The impact of the lockdown on the road haulage sector turnover, nearly 2 billion lost, business births at -30%
Nine hundred million kilometers less, 1,8 billion in lost turnover, and a denatality that exceeds 30%. These are the March and April data, processed - in comparison with the same period of 2019 - by the Confcommercio study office for Conftrasporto, taken from the periodic survey by Format Research on Italian road haulage companies. They trace the picture of a sector that has never stopped traveling, even when, between 9 March and 13 May, the whole country was in lockdown, and which is continuing to work often even at a loss, unable to offset the trip forward (loaded) with return (empty).
Not only that: from the beginning of the emergency, some road haulage companies are anticipating the costs of the service, money that in the best of cases they will see again in months, in the worst in a year, because there are several clients who have decided to postpone the payments. This is an element that strongly alarms sector operators. The positive payment trend recorded in the last 3 years has in fact undergone a sharp deterioration in these first months of 2020, as recognized by 2 out of 3 companies, and almost 60% of companies have literally certified (or are about to do so) the lack of liquidity for covid-19, asking for the blocking of the existing bank credit lines.
The effects of the lockdown also reverberated on employment, with a loss in terms of wages and contributions estimated at a total of around € 370 million, partly covered by the social safety nets.
The 'screening' also frees the field from simplistic conclusions, which would like the road transport in full health for the simple fact of not having stopped. According to the data of Format-Confcommercio, remaining open yes mitigates the short-term mortality rate of companies, but the drop in demand reduces the birth rate in a sudden and exceptional way. If the situation persists also in the next quarter, the demographic balance of companies could have permanent effects on the stability of the sector.
"In this period, the strategic role of the transport sector was recognized, in support of the national economic system and the quality of life of citizens - explains the vice president of Conftrasporto Paolo Uggè - Warehouse workers, drivers and couriers, alongside doctors and nurses are been in the front line to ensure that that part of ordinary life is possible during the epidemic ”.
The lockdown - as the data show unequivocally - has put a strain on businesses. The measures that Minister De Micheli has obtained for the sector alleviate the impact of the crisis, but, for Conftrasporto, the Government has not been able to guarantee the essential condition for restarting.
"Those who hold the purse strings must take steps to ensure the concrete and immediate availability of resources to road haulage companies, ensuring that the customers pay on time, the banking system facilitates access to credit, the client avoids speculating on the the backs of hauliers by revising their tariffs downwards, and above all that the Government guarantees direct forms of financing, including non-repayments to the sector, which has not been implemented until now. Businesses can no longer wait”, Concluded the vice president of Conftrasporto-Confcommercio Paolo Uggè.