“The road haulage sector is at risk of collapse”

Even in 2024 the road transport situation is anything but rosy. This was stated by Antonio Peruzzi, president of Cna Fita Arezzo: “The increases in costs, the international situation and some local choices such as the one on the toll on the Fi-Pi-Li and also the proposals for revision of the highway code weigh on our sector in a such as to represent a threat to the sustainability of the sector, which risks collapse – says Peruzzi. This is why our association at national level is asking the Government for greater attention to the problems of our sector, in particular for small-sized businesses. faced with increases in costs also linked to geopolitical problems, in the face of increasingly reduced profit margins, they risk closure”. To support these statements there are the numbers with an average percentage increase of 4.6% in road transport costs , equal to approximately 6,000 euros more per year for each vehicle, excluding the cost of employee labor and fuel. Added to this general situation, at a local level, is the situation of Fi-Pi-Li and the decision of the Tuscany Region to introduce tolls for heavy vehicles only. “This is an incomprehensible political choice that affects our category – continues Peruzzi. In addition to considering this measure unfair and discriminatory, we find it unfeasible and much less a solution to the infrastructure problems. In fact, for three years we have reiterated that the Fi-Pi-Li cannot be a free alternative to the A11 motorway. The two arteries serve two completely different territories and it is certainly not a blame to be placed on the world of transport if, along the Fi-Pi-Li, many production facilities have developed over the years which need, like it or not, wheels to to survive. However, we may also be willing to pay a toll but after the infrastructure has been improved and not before: it’s fine to be users, but not financiers”.
Last issue, no less important, is the proposed law to revise the highway code, which Cna Fita is opposing to correct the distortions present in the text. “In particular we are referring to those linked to the duration of driving and rest periods, which risk making the transport activities of both goods and people onerous, discontinuous and inefficient – Peruzzi continues. This is alarming our small businesses in the sector above all the so-called short suspension of the driving license which would be triggered in the event of exceeding the service or rest times, if the score attributed on the driving license or driver qualification card was less than twenty points, therefore even in the event of a violation of little seriousness. This is a measure that attributes blame to companies that is not theirs, determined by the state of the road infrastructure, the lack of adequate parking areas, the congestion caused by chaotic road maintenance, elements which today represent the main critical issues affecting the guide of the drivers”, concludes the president of Cna Fita Arezzo Antonio Peruzzi.