Very little disruption reported during first day of transport strike in Spain

The General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) indicated that the transport stoppages are not causing notable incidents, although they have detected informative pickets, for which alternative routes have been established.

Sources from the Traffic Information Service have specified that three road sections have been affected: on the A6, in Lugo towards Madrid, there was a closed lane; on the N640, also in Lugo, in the municipality of A Campiña, there were delays, and on the A27 in Tarragona, towards the port, there was a traffic jam for one kilometre.

In Madrid, there have been no notable incidents, beyond some informative pickets in areas such as Mercamadrid. Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida, the mayor of the capital, confirmed that there have been no complications, and has ruled out that there may be shortages.

In the Valencian Community, no significant incidents were either. One of the spokespersons for the convening platform, Alvaro Ortiz, president of the Port Transport Association of the Valencian Community (Asotraport), told EFE that the strike reached 85 per cent of the capacity, and has affected activity in the terminals from the Port of Valencia.

The transport strike has not stopped activity in Andalucia, although there were some informative pickets in industrial estates. According to sources in the sector, early in the morning, there were intermittent traffic cuts in the Jaen municipality of Bailen.

Transport employers in the Balearic Islands did not support the strike, but in the morning more than a hundred lorries drove along one of the Palma motorways and caused traffic jams at the time of greatest traffic.

The Spanish Confederation of Freight Transport (CETM) – the largest of the associations – understands that “this is not the time” to support a transport strike, and even less so if it is indefinite, and “without clear objectives”, because “it will only serve to further destabilise the complicated situation.

It called for “immediate” action from the Government to limit fuel prices for road freight transport for the duration of the current situation, which has caused a 20 per cent increase in fuel prices.

Since the end of January, diesel has risen 30.4 per cent, reaching €1.80/litre last Friday 11, although at some petrol stations it already exceeds two euros per litre.

Filling the tank of an international truck, which usually has a capacity of 1,500 litres, costs €2,700 today, compared to €2,070 at the end of January. This figure could exceed €3,000 in the coming days with the more than foreseeable escalation of prices, as reported by diariodesevilla.es.

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