High diesel prices make it impossible for companies to cover their living costs

High diesel prices are dragging goods transport and coach hire companies into crisis. An extraordinary assembly of the provincial section of the Federation of Italian Road Hauliers (Fai) is being held in Milan today because of the deep concern brought about by the out-of-control rise in fuel prices. For the road haulage industry, the situation generated by the serious international crisis has already reached unprecedented levels of unsustainability, and haulage companies are now having to cope with an increase in the cost of fuel that, for the most virtuous realities - those that have invested in safety and environmental sustainability - reaches peaks of +40 cents per litre.

Fai Milano warns: without rapid and structural government intervention, the suspension of transport services will no longer be a hypothesis, but an unavoidable necessity due to the impossibility of covering the running costs, 'as has emerged,' notes Emmanuele Florio, secretary of Fai Milano, 'from the first contacts with our associated companies.

Same situation for tourist bus rental companies. Launching the alarm this time is Riccardo Verona, president of the National Association of Italian Tourist Buses, a member of Confcommercio, who explains: 'The situation in the tourist bus sector has now exceeded all levels of sustainability. The fuel trend, after fleeting price reductions, continues to worsen hour after hour, dragging companies towards a crisis that risks becoming irreversible. I launch a strong, direct and heartfelt appeal to all associations and categories of tourism and road transport, both goods and people: we have reached a point of no return. Companies are discouraged, demoralised, at the end of their tether. The situation shows no sign of improving, but continues to worsen, making it impossible to move forward. An immediate, concrete and no longer postponable signal is needed: without urgent action, there will be no tomorrow for our sector. It is time to put up a united front because the crisis is transversal and affects everyone. Divided we won't go anywhere, united we can still defend the future of the sector'.

With the cost of diesel steadily exceeding two euros per litre and with tourist buses indicatively consuming between 25 and 35 litres of diesel (about 3-4 km with one litre) per 100 kilometres fully loaded on the motorway, it is easy to imagine the weight of the fuel item on companies' accounts. Verona raises the alarm of Codacons, which reported low prices for the day yesterday: the average cost of diesel, also considering the provinces of Trento and Bolzano, stands at 2.154 euro per litre in Italy, just 7 thousandths less than yesterday, while petrol costs an average of 1.785 euro per litre, just 3 thousandths less. On the motorway, diesel stands at 2.187 euro per litre (-4 thousandths). What more can be added if one thinks that in January the average price on a monthly basis was 1.665 euro per litre. "What is needed is immediate intervention," Verona concludes, "and shared action among all associations to avoid the definitive collapse of companies linked to tourism and transport. Without fuel the engine stops!"