The freight road transport sector continues to experience a phase of strong emergency and is preparing for the national shutdown of services proclaimed by Confartigianato Trasporti together with the UNATRAS coordination from 25 to 29 May 2026.
The Calabrian companies in the sector will also participate in the mobilization and will be involved in the interregional assembly convened by Confartigianato Trasporti for Saturday 23 May, starting from 3 pm, in the Confartigianato pavilion of the Fiera del Levante in Bari.
The meeting will serve to define the operational details of the protest in compliance with the Self-Regulation Code and still guarantee essential and vital public services.
In the meantime, UNATRAS has been summoned to Palazzo Chigi for May 22nd at 5.30 pm for a discussion table in which the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Matteo Salvini are expected to participate. However, in the absence of concrete answers, the national shutdown remains confirmed.
At the basis of the protest are the now unsustainable costs of fuel and the lack of structural interventions capable of dealing with a liquidity crisis that risks putting thousands of companies in the sector out of business, with serious repercussions also on employment levels.
Confartigianato Trasporti Calabria supports the demands of the national Association and reiterates the main requests of the category: allocation of 500 million euros in the form of a tax credit to compensate for the increase in fuel; immediate quarterly reimbursement of excise duties within ten days of the request; restoration of full relief on excise duty reimbursement; temporary and optional suspension of taxes, social security contributions and insurance premiums.
«We are tired of waiting while the sector risks being crushed by costs – we read in the note from Confartigianato Trasporti Calabria -. Businesses have demonstrated a great sense of responsibility, but without adequate interventions it will no longer be possible to move forward. We await the outcome of the confrontation on May 22, but in the meantime we have a duty to prepare for the mobilization. We defend the survival and dignity of our companies. We must understand that if road transport stops, the country stops.”