The strike lasted just one day, was hit by a tragedy and was then immediately called off. But the protest that erupted in the road haulage sector is not an isolated episode: it is the symptom of a deep crisis that has been eroding margins for years, reducing the number of companies and putting the resilience of the entire logistics supply chain at risk.
Behind the pickets and the tensions on the motorways lies an increasingly fragile economic system. The figures, after all, speak for themselves: according to the CGIA research office, one company in five risks closing by the end of 2026, crushed by an ever more serious liquidity crisis.
The fuel crunch: costs out of control.
The first pressure point is diesel prices. Today, diesel has exceeded €2.13 per litre, up more than 30% compared to the end of 2025. For a heavy vehicle, filling up now costs more than €1,000—around €250 more than it did just a few months ago.
This is not a simple price hike. In road transport, fuel accounts for about 30% of operating costs and, together with staff, is the single biggest cost item. Above all, it is not a cost that can be easily passed down the chain: many contracts are fixed months in advance, with rates that do not automatically adjust to market fluctuations.
The result is an immediate impact on margins: every increase is absorbed directly by companies, especially smaller operators.
The liquidity trap
But the real critical issue—even more than the diesel price—is cash flow. The sector’s business model is structurally unbalanced: fuel is paid for immediately, while services are paid 60, 90 or even 120 days later.
This time gap creates constant financial pressure. Companies have to advance substantial resources to keep operating, without any certainty of recovering them quickly. Without sufficient working capital, the risk is not a lack of work, but the inability to cover day-to-day costs.
This is where the survival of thousands of businesses is decided: not by volume, but by their ability to withstand the financial cycle.
Weak contracts and imbalances with customers
Compounding the picture is the weak contractual position of many hauliers. The “fuel surcharge” mechanism, which should automatically adjust rates based on fuel prices, often goes unapplied or is only partially recognised.
Many customers challenge the adjustment or cap it, effectively shifting the risk onto carriers. This dynamic penalises above all small owner-operators (“padroncini”), who lack the bargaining power needed to secure fairer terms.
The result is margin compression across the entire chain, with a systematic transfer of costs onto the weakest link.
Ineffective public policies
The measures adopted in recent months have not reversed the trend. The cut in excise duties, presented as support for the sector, has turned into a double-edged sword. By reducing the tax for everyone, it has effectively eroded the specific benefit granted to hauliers via refunds on professional diesel.
At the same time, the announced tax credit has remained limited and inaccessible to most vehicles: only 22% of the fleet can benefit from it. An intervention perceived as insufficient, if not outright counterproductive.
A shrinking sector
The crisis is not new. Over the past ten years, the number of road haulage companies in Italy has fallen from more than 86,000 to around 67,000, a contraction of 22%. A figure that points to a selection process already underway, marked by closures, mergers and the gradual disappearance of smaller businesses.
In some regions, the decline exceeds 30%, as shown in the table on page 9 of the CGIA report—evidence of a structural downsizing that cannot be explained solely by cyclical downturns.
Beyond the protest
The stoppage that began and was then immediately cancelled has put the spotlight back on the issue, but it has not changed the picture. The road haulage sector remains squeezed between rising costs, ineffective rules and an unbalanced supply chain.
The protest, even when it fades quickly, continues to resurface because the root causes remain intact. And without structural interventions—on fuel costs, payment terms and contractual relations—the risk is that it won’t be just trucks coming to a halt, but an entire part of the real economy.
Source: CGIA
