With road bills in excess of 14,000 million euros per year in Spain, the transport of goods faces a serious problem: generational lack of relaxation. Companies can’t find truckers, and the Spanish Confederation of Goods Transport (CETM) estimates the shortage at 15,000 workers. The problem becomes so great that employers are already negotiating with the Government to issue visas to foreign professionals. The paradox is that while the national group lacks the drivers, Castellon now there are plenty and all because of crisis The shortest citrus campaign in history, where the tile has been going on for over a year.
Although shipping companies in the province have traditionally estimated the labor shortage in the industry at around 500 truckers, today things have changed. “If you do a few year There were companies that stopped the trucks because there were no workers, now they have them too, but due to the lack of personnel. sue. volume work It fell a lot”, explains Carmelo MartínezPresident of the Castellón Road Goods Transport Cooperation (ACTM), an organization affiliated with the national confederation.
Although the decrease in the activity, which is estimated to be around 20% in the sector, was even more in the first two months of this year, it started to be noticed after the summer months. «Commercial goods transport by both tile and shops and citrus cooperatives was low in January and February, Since the season of Clemenules ends this time around Christmas. And we’re talking about two big industries in which carriers work,” he adds.
Travel demand is no longer the same as it was a year ago, and besides applying for layoffs, some companies have disappeared. Actually, and according to data from the Ministry of Transport, the sector has 2,664 traders, self-employed and cooperatives in Castellón (data as of end-February), less than a year ago twenty. “We want the ceramic help to come now. The industry does not demand anything that its Italian competitors do not,” says the ACTM president.
Drivers are getting older
Aside from the decline in demand, a fact in Castellón transport is that a significant proportion of its employees are over 50 years old. «Half of the workforce is over the age of 45, which means they will be retiring from a complex and difficult activity in twenty years, and there is almost no relief from that». It also describes Carmelo Martínez, who called for measures to facilitate the integration of young people into society.