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On the road to ruin?

26th February 2009
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

CM's EuroWatch series heads to Italy, where it discovers hauliers are being forced out of business by terrible conditions and cut-throat competition.

Words: Lee Adendorff / Images: Daniele Branthmarte LAST YEAR WAS a devastating one for Italian hauliers In the past 10 months, 8,000 mostly single-vehicle hauliers have departed the industry, according to Gianni Montalli, president of the National Transport Union (CAN FITA Unione Nazionale Imprese di Trasporto). However, he says, the worst is yet to come...

"We have the highest rate of hauliers folding in Europe," Montalli tells CM. Of the 130,000 active transport firms (including single-vehicle owner-drivers) in Italy, Montalli expects one in 12 to be no longer operating by next year.

A combination of the soaring cost of diesel and poor road infrastructure, especially old highways, have led to unsustainable operating costs. "Many can no longer compete with their European rivals.

"Drivers are under more pressure to maximise driving time, and we have the phenomenon where owner-drivers arc exploiting themselves, driving extra hours or accepting tariffs that are too low just to stay in business," he adds.

Alverio Podda, owner of Transea Transporters, has a fleet of 150 semitrailers that transport supermarket goods between Sardinia and the mainland. Speaking in the yard of his Podda Transport firm, in Livorno, he says that apart from the cost of fuel, the main cost-management problem is the restriction on hours of driving and obligatory rest stops. "Timing is our biggest problem," he states. "We're often constrained by ferry sailing times [or transport time when carrying perishable goods] and this makes it difficult to respect the hours."

Time pressures

Sardinian driver Pino Maccioni, who has worked behind the wheel for 22 years (currently for haulier Podda), concurs. "Time is against us. Sometimes we have to drive over our hours, and there's no way to avoid that," he says.

Despite constant time pressures. Maccioni claims it's rare that a driver in Italy will attempt to 'doctor' their digital tachograph. "There's no way you tamper with the tachograph. It's not worth it. the checks are very regular. It's your name on the licence and the penalties are heavy," he says.

Roberto Benedetti who has a Scania dealership in Livorno notes that the older paper tachos were more easily manipulated, but the digital version is much harder to tamper with:"I've heard of some using magnets, but I think it's rare. Most wouldn't risk it," he reckons.

Sanctions for tampering can mean fines of €1,500 (£1,334), but Italian drivers explain the biggest deterrent is the 15-day licence suspension.

Owner-drivers in particular cannot afford lobe off the road for long.

Earnings

Over at the Reori truckwash on the outskirts of Livorno, Romanian-born driver Alb Sorin says: "I pay €4,500 (£3.998) a month for my truck: that's a fixed cost that doesn't change.

He has been driving for seven years in Italy and says his take-home pay is approximately €3,000 (£2,664) for driving 13,000km a month.

Almost all owner-drivers work under contract to transport firms or as a part of a consortium. They are paid by the kilometre, with rates varying between 90 cents and El per km, and they drive an average of 13,000km per month.

Drivers who work independently for transport companies earn less between €1,800 (£1,598) and €2,500 (&2.220) per month, driving between 11,000 and 12,000km.

Also at the truckwash, 35-year-old Antonio Selleri is a driver with a small transport firm. He has been driving for 12 years and says that now he tries to do only national trips to be at home regularly with his wife and two children. He drives around 10,000km a month to earn around €2,000 (£1,775).

Awful facilities

"It's a good life, but the roads are awful compared to France or Spain," Selleri thinks -The service areas in Italy are bad. Especially parking. Sometimes I pull into a stop but the parking bays are full. 1 end up back on the motorway to find a stop with parking," "The service areas aren't good; the hygiene facilities are awful. Sometimes I don't even want to leave my truck, the smell is so bad," says Maccioni.

Overtaking restrictions on motorways can also add time to a trip. "There are some places where overtaking is not permitted. If it's a mountain and you get stuck behind someone going slowly, what usually takes me about 40 minutes can take hours," says Sorin.

The drivers do acknowledge that foreign competition is a reality in Italy, especially from Eastern Europe.

Podda says Eastern European drivers tend to he more willing to work, but they earn the same as their Italian counterparts when they work in Italy and have to abide by the same rules.

The bigger threat to local hauliers is from drivers based in neighbouring countries such as Slovenia that have lower living and operating costs.

Angelo Nascenzi of the National Transport Association (ANITA — Associazione Nazionale Imprese Trasporti Automobilisitici) says EU cabotage reforms need to be further regulated by the Italian government to protect the embattled local industry

Cabotage rules

"The problem with the liberalisation of the European transport market is that no thought was given to harmonisation of costs," Nascenzi says.

The CNA F1TA union is lobbying to reduce the cabotage regulations to a maximum of two trips in seven days with restrictions on the permanence of stay and the type of transport. It remains to be seen if such regulations could he enforced effectively.

"There are no controls on foreign drivers. They operate here freely and do not contribute to the country when they are here," says Montalli."Unfortunately, in Italy, there is no political will to establish real controls." si

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