Storm Ingrid, which is heading for the Balearics, has already started to batter Spain and is causing serious transport problems, especially when it comes to good vehicles and it could pose a threat to supplies to the Balearics if HGVs cannot get to the ports and if sea ports are closed due to the gale force winds and near nine metre waves.
The supermarket association Asedas has warned that the traffic restrictions established by the DGT are beginning to cause shortages in supermarkets on the mainland due to the ‘preventive’ stoppage of all lorry traffic in the northern plateau, according to sources from the employers’ association.
Since Thursday night, the Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT) has restricted the movement of goods vehicles (loaded or unloaded) weighing more than 7,500 kilograms on certain sections of road to ensure safety conditions and the movement of emergency vehicles. According to their data, more than 15 high-capacity roads may be affected by the storm, in addition to local and regional roads.
According to Asedas, this has caused hundreds of lorries to be ‘stranded’ on the roads and platforms to be ‘paralysed’, which has begun to cause shortages in supermarkets, so they have asked for business as usual. According to the forecast by the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), this weekend the red alert (extraordinary risk) will remain in place on the coast of Galicia, the orange alert (significant risk) in Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Country, and the yellow alert in Andalusia, the Balearics and the City of Ceuta.
For employers, the DGT has established an ‘unprecedented preventive’ measure that has affected the operation of logistics platforms and has created a “huge” problem for the transport of food and essential products. ‘This measure has been disproportionate, hasty and sets a worrying precedent in guaranteeing the essential service of supplying food and other essential products,’ it said in a statement.
The priority at the moment is to ‘raise awareness’ among the authorities so that, ‘as far as possible’, roads that may be affected by snow are kept clear and priority is given to the safe movement of lorries carrying essential goods. All this is to ensure supplies to supermarkets and self-service stores over the weekend, the organisation said. The association concluded with an appeal to the population to avoid ‘unnecessary’ hoarding of food in their homes.
The president of the National Federation of Transport Associations of Spain (Fenadismer), Carlos Folchi, warned today, Friday, of a possible shortage of products on shop shelves in ‘24 to 48 hours’ if the traffic restrictions affecting goods vehicles remain in place and no alternative route is offered.
Folchi has warned of the ‘significant risk’ that this situation could cause if it continues over time, a measure that has surprised them due to its “intensity” and ‘scope’.
In his opinion, it is ‘utterly absurd’ to preventively close roads used by goods transport, which is “essential” for society as a whole. ‘The problem is serious,’ he reiterated. In the absence of specific data on the number of lorries affected, the president of Fenadismer acknowledged that, beyond the economic losses, there is also the unfortunate situation of ‘thousands of workers’ who are on the verge of the weekend and returning home.
For Folchi, this circumstance is a ‘sign’ and ‘expression’ of the problems Spain has with its infrastructure, and it is not the transporters who should ‘pay the price’ for its “inefficiency”. ‘90% of goods in Spain are transported by lorry,’ said the president, illustrating the magnitude of the situation.
The federation has called for the establishment of alternative routes to facilitate the return of professionals to their homes in a situation aggravated by uncertainty about how long this measure will last.