Fenadismer reports persistent late payments in Spanish road transport
The Fenadismer association representing shippers and carriers disclosed that a significant portion of freight companies and intermediaries still fail to comply with payment regulations. In their assessment, this ongoing noncompliance continues to place a burden on carrier cash flows and disrupts the timely settlement of invoices. The data, drawn from the Permanent Observatory of defaults and payments in the road transport sector, reflect the situation as of last July and show that payment delays remained stubbornly high with limited improvement from prior months. The pattern signals a widespread issue in how freight services are compensated and highlights the structural challenges facing the industry.
Fenadismer further notes that, since October of the previous year, about 16% of firms have continued to settle accounts more than six months after services were delivered, despite the existence of a legal framework designed to enforce prompt payment within the road freight sector. Sanctions can reach up to 6,000 euros for individual breaches and up to 30,000 euros for repeated offenses. Nevertheless, the threat of penalties appears insufficient to deter late payments in many cases and the problem persists across the market.
The association points out that the industry’s average payment maturity sits around 75 days, with around 42% of violators paying after more than 90 days. Among the methods used to compensate transport services, money orders are the most common, accounting for about two-thirds of transactions, followed by confirmations, promissory notes, and checks in far smaller shares. This mix of payment instruments reveals how standard practices diverge from the expectations set by the legal framework and underscores the need for clearer enforcement and more reliable payment behavior across all market participants.
Overall, Fenadismer emphasizes that late payments continue to threaten the financial stability of carriers and undermine the fairness of the market. The information highlights a tension between regulatory intent and actual practice, suggesting that additional measures may be required to ensure timely compensation, reduce liquidity stress, and protect the integrity of the road transport sector in Spain. The organization calls on policymakers, industry players, and financial institutions to reinforce compliance mechanisms and support efficient payment flows within the supply chain.