The road freight transport sector maintains “uncertainty and concern” due to the “spectacular” rise in fuel costs (gas and diesel), which is nullifying the profitability of carriers when not forcing them to operate at a loss, I explain. Ovid de la Rozapresident of the employer association Asetra.
However, De la Roza welcomed the approval of the royal decree that requires contracts to be adjusted to increases and decreases in fuels and includes the other measures agreed on December 17 by the sector with the Government, in the case of the regulation of the times and conditions of the waiting areas, the exemption of truckers from loading and unloading and the security of the rest areas, among others. Although the update of the rates according to the price of fuels has already entered into force, other aspects are pending regulatory development, so Asetra awaits to assess them when they materialize. The sector, he said, needs to rebalance the current asymmetry between carriers and customers.
In 2021 and so far in 2022, the activity grew but all the costs have been overwhelmed and the difficulty in transferring them to the client remains. De la Roza criticized the delay in applying the toll reduction in the Huerna and welcomed the fact that the sustainable mobility bill does not include payment for the use of highways and other roads.