Valencian transport assures that in the sector there are "desperate situations to attract traffic", a situation that they have observed since the end of last year, aggravated by the escalation of costs and a drop in cargo activity. The secretary of the Valencian Federation of Transport and Logistics Employers (FVET), Carlos García, assures that “the most aggressive offers proliferate at times when work falls, like now.”
The situation began at the end of the year and has continued throughout the year, he points out: “It was detected in the port area where there has been a stoppage in activity since October.” A year of already complex situation although the latest figures from the Port Authority of Valencia referring to the month of August show a “moderate” contraction of global traffic. The movements recorded in its docks during the last three months have shown "signs of stabilization", says the PAV. In Valencian transport the effect is still negative.
It is because of this situation and the escalation of costs that the FVET asked the Government in September for an extension of fuel aid, since until Saturday it was 10 cents per liter, but since Sunday, October 1, the aid has fallen. up to 5 cents per liter and will continue until December 31, according to Royal Decree-Law 5/2023, of June 28. Valencian transport argues that only between July and August the price of professional diesel skyrocketed by 12% and their forecast is that it will continue to do so, which is why they are asking that the aid be extended and that it "intensify" until it reaches 20 cents per liter, as was the case until March 31.
It is in this context that practices occur that worry companies, mainly those that consist of below-cost marketing: “We know that it is because we are losing our jobs, but each person must act with their conscience,” he argues. Garcia.
They say that unfair competition is growing in the sector. The Federation recently asked its members, more than 1,500 companies and 20,000 professionals, how they perceived unfair competition: they estimated it at 50%, making a jump of 30% and reaching pre-pandemic figures. “It is a question that we have been asking traditionally and we saw that the parameters rose a lot and there are companies that do not comply with the regulations,” García attacks.
Examples? Companies that “do not have a transportation card, that commit legal fraud, that work with false self-employed workers or in cooperatives that are not self-employed.” Just a few weeks ago, a delivery man in a van ran over two cyclists on the road between Torrent and Montserrat in Valencia, killing both. Later it was known that the delivery man was in an irregular situation.
The situation denounced by the FVET does not improve in the last mile, the final transport of merchandise and which is most in contact with the user, defends its general secretary. “Currently that is a jungle, the activity continues to grow constantly with digital commerce and now individuals are even used to make deliveries,” he denounces.
