Goods blocked since last night in the ports of Sicily. Action is being taken against fuel price increases. Starting from midnight between Monday 13 and Tuesday 14 April, Sicilian hauliers interrupted the loading and unloading operations of trailers from ships, to protest against the increases in fuel prices caused by the war in the Middle East. The aim of the strike is to block the arrival of goods to large-scale distribution and supermarkets – which in Sicily occurs almost only with road transport – to push the government and administrations to find a solution to mitigate the rise in prices.
It is a very popular strike. According to the organizers, around 90% of the companies in the sector took part. There are no road blocks or controls planned, but the initiative aims to interrupt supplies to large-scale retail trade until formal commitments arrive from the national government. The strike is expected to last until Saturday 18 April and was called by the Sicilian Transporters Committee, which represents the most important logistics operators on the island. However, the hauliers of the Cna, another representative organization, are against the blockade.
Why hauliers are striking in Sicily
At the basis of the mobilization is the sharp increase in costs related to fuel and the management of transport activities, aggravated – according to the Committee – by international dynamics and an increasingly unsustainable cost structure for companies in the sector. But not only that. The representatives of the Committee ask that the Ministry of Economy use the proceeds derived from the payment of the ETS, a sort of tax imposed by the European Union for activities considered polluting, by Sicilian and Sardinian companies to finance some type of relief for transport companies.
Among the main critical issues reported there are also the mechanisms of the “Sea modal shift” support program, an incentive system of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport which supports combined road-sea transport and promotes more sustainable logistics for goods. Greater clarity is requested on the calculation criteria and timing of disbursement of funds. As mentioned before, transporters also raise doubts about the management of resources linked to the European ETS tax, paid to shipowners and then to the State, asking that these funds be allocated to the Ministry of Infrastructure to strengthen incentives for sea transport.
Further concerns concern the possible introduction of Ets2 from 2028 and its repercussions on company balance sheets, in addition to the uncertainty about the future of the “Sea modal shift”, whose current programming ends in 2027 without indications of any extensions or structural transformations. Finally, there is also the increase in the costs of ferries in the Strait of Messina and maritime routes in general, which according to the operators has not been adequately compensated by the interventions adopted so far.
“Prices will rise again”
Meanwhile, the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, after the failure of negotiations between the United States and Iran, and oil and gas prices are skyrocketing. In the last few hours, fuel prices in Italy have not moved. But Unem, the oil companies’ association, predicts that they will rise soon, in the wake of crude oil. Truck drivers, faced with the increase in diesel fuel, are threatening to block services: they will meet on Friday 17 April to decide. WTI oil (the United States standard) reached 104.57 dollars a barrel, with an increase of 8.28% before falling slightly. Brent (the North Sea standard) rose 7.12% to $102.03 a barrel. As for gas, the TTF in Amsterdam, the European stock exchange, jumped by 10.45%, reaching 48.2 euros per megawatt hour.
Fuel prices in Italy are stable today, after three days of decline following the drop in crude oil prices, due to the truce announced by Trump. The average price of petrol in self-service mode along the national road network is 1.783 euros per litre, stable compared to yesterday’s reading. The price of diesel is 2.160 euros per litre, a very slight decrease compared to the previous 2.162 euros. But with the rise in crude oil, petrol and diesel are also destined to rise in price soon. For Gianni Murano, president of Unem, the association of fuel producers and distributors, “from the signals I see from Brent and from the international price of diesel, prices will have to rise again, because they are rising quite rapidly in these last few hours”.
Murano does not see the risk of no longer having fuel at the pumps. “For April and May the coverage is guaranteed – he explains -. Afterwards, oil should be found, even with the Strait of Hormuz closed, and national production of refined products is sufficient to cover demand. There are also no problems for diesel and fuel oil for ships”. If anything, the problem will be the price, first of oil and then of refined products: “Of course, the price rises – comments Murano – because demand from Asia is added, which it no longer receives from the Gulf”.
A decision will be made on Friday to block the trucks
Meanwhile, hauliers continue to protest against increased diesel prices, which are eroding their profit margins. The entire category, announces Unatras, the unitary coordination of the national sector associations, “is oriented towards blocking road transport services”. On Friday 17 April the national executive committee of Unatras will be called to decide on the interruption of services. Truck drivers are asking for tax relief from the tax credit and a six-month deferral of tax and social security contributions.
It is clear that a general blockade of hauliers would have enormous repercussions on the distribution of goods and consumer prices throughout Italy. The increases in diesel fuel prices, on the other hand, have very far-reaching effects: unlike petrol, the fuel with which the majority of private vehicles are powered, diesel is not only used by motorists, but also in agriculture, industry and indeed transport. Diesel is in many ways the “engine” of the economy: if that increases, everything increases in cascade.
Prices region by region
Below, the average fuel prices, region by region, published on the website of the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy every morning.
Abruzzo
| TYPE | DELIVERY | AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel | SELF | 2,144 |
| Gas | SELF | 1,780 |
| LPG | SERVED | 0.792 |
| Methane | SERVED | 1,510 |
Basilicata
| TYPE | DELIVERY | AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel | SELF | 2,152 |
| Gas | SELF | 1,802 |
| LPG | SERVED | 0.755 |
| Methane | SERVED | 1,567 |
Calabria
| TYPE | DELIVERY | AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel | SELF | 2,167 |
| Gas | SELF | 1,801 |
| LPG | SERVED | 0.833 |
| Methane | SERVED | 1,650 |
Campania
| TYPE | DELIVERY | AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel | SELF | 2,148 |
| Gas | SELF | 1,780 |
| LPG | SERVED | 0.781 |
| Methane | SERVED | 1,544 |
Emilia Romagna
| TYPE | DELIVERY | AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel | SELF | 2.163 |
| Gas | SELF | 1,775 |
| LPG | SERVED | 0.791 |
| Methane | SERVED | 1,559 |
Friuli Venezia Giulia
| TYPE | DELIVERY | AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel | SELF | 2,168 |
| Gas | SELF | 1,783 |
| LPG | SERVED | 0.782 |
| Methane | SERVED | 1,567 |
Lazio
| TYPE | DELIVERY | AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel | SELF | 2,136 |
| Gas | SELF | 1,770 |
| LPG | SERVED | 0.791 |
| Methane | SERVED | 1,696 |
Liguria
| TYPE | DELIVERY | AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel | SELF | 2.151 |
| Gas | SELF | 1,788 |
| LPG | SERVED | 0.871 |
| Methane | SERVED | 1,555 |
Lombardy
| TYPE | DELIVERY | AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel | SELF | 2,160 |
| Gas | SELF | 1,774 |
| LPG | SERVED | 0.784 |
| Methane | SERVED | 1,564 |
Marche
| TYPE | DELIVERY | AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel | SELF | 2,133 |
| Gas | SELF | 1,772 |
| LPG | SERVED | 0.808 |
| Methane | SERVED | 1,530 |
Molise
| TYPE | DELIVERY | AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel | SELF | 2,166 |
| Gas | SELF | 1,805 |
| LPG | SERVED | 0.802 |
| Methane | SERVED | 1,481 |
Piedmont
| TYPE | DELIVERY | AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel | SELF | 2.151 |
| Gas | SELF | 1,771 |
| LPG | SERVED | 0.787 |
| Methane | SERVED | 1,581 |
Puglia
| TYPE | DELIVERY | AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel | SELF | 2,160 |
| Gas | SELF | 1,789 |
| LPG | SERVED | 0.773 |
| Methane | SERVED | 1,646 |
Sardinia
| TYPE | DELIVERY | AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel | SELF | 2,159 |
| Gas | SELF | 1,785 |
| LPG | SERVED | 0.858 |
Sicily
| TYPE | DELIVERY | AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel | SELF | 2,158 |
| Gas | SELF | 1,798 |
| LPG | SERVED | 0.816 |
| Methane | SERVED | 1,819 |
Tuscany
| TYPE | DELIVERY | AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel | SELF | 2,144 |
| Gas | SELF | 1,776 |
| LPG | SERVED | 0.799 |
| Methane | SERVED | 1,603 |
Umbria
| TYPE | DELIVERY | AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel | SELF | 2,138 |
| Gas | SELF | 1,774 |
| LPG | SERVED | 0.796 |
| Methane | SERVED | 1,564 |
Aosta Valley
| TYPE | DELIVERY | AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel | SELF | 2,148 |
| Gas | SELF | 1,792 |
| LPG | SERVED | 0.874 |
Veneto
| TYPE | DELIVERY | AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel | SELF | 2,153 |
| Gas | SELF | 1,771 |
| LPG | SERVED | 0.794 |
| Methane | SERVED | 1,530 |
Province of Bolzano
| TYPE | DELIVERY | AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel | SELF | 2,181 |
| Gas | SELF | 1,810 |
| LPG | SERVED | 0.832 |
| Methane | SERVED | 1,737 |
Province of Trento
| TYPE | DELIVERY | AVERAGE PRICE |
| Diesel | SELF | 2,164 |
| Gas | SELF | 1,784 |
| LPG | SERVED | 0.805 |
| Methane | SERVED | 1,612 |