It is the road hauliers themselves – as previously seen in Genoa, La Spezia, Naples and Venice – who are introducing the fee to offset losses caused by chronic delays at port terminals.
Despite its name, the Port Fee is not imposed by the port authority, but by associations representing transport companies. The fee will be listed on hauliers’ invoices as a separate item, for example: “PORT FEE – loading and/or unloading in the port of Livorno”.
Hauliers explain that terminals in Livorno are poorly organised: formalities take too long, making it impossible to plan transport properly, as drivers often lose several hours during loading and unloading. The cost of this downtime currently falls entirely on the transport companies, which is why, they argue, these costs must now be shared across the supply chain, including with service recipients.
Not just Livorno
Livorno is not an isolated case. The practice of introducing surcharges for port delays began a year earlier in Genoa, where hauliers implemented a congestion fee of €120 to €180 per trip. Similar measures have since been taken by hauliers in:
- Naples – following long queues at the Conateco terminal,
- La Spezia – where six transport associations agreed they would no longer bear the cost of port congestion,
- Venice-Marghera – the first Adriatic port to be affected, with the fee introduced in June 2025.
A similar surcharge has already been announced at the port of Vado Ligure, and in Ravenna, hauliers have threatened to blockade the terminal unless the situation improves.
Industry divided as logisticians raise concerns
The introduction of surcharges by hauliers has divided opinion among logistics professionals. Freight forwarders and terminal operators warn that such charges could undermine the competitiveness of ports and lead to price dumping, with only some companies applying the surcharge and others not – gaining customers at the expense of financial sustainability.
Hauliers, however, insist they have no choice: their profit margins are too slim to continue absorbing the costs caused by port inefficiencies.
