Catalan truckers say fuel spike has pushed costs up 30%

Catalan road freight companies are watching the escalating conflict in the Middle East with concern, estimating that operating costs have risen by about 30% following a sudden surge in fuel prices.

"The figures we have change daily, but the price of Brent crude has surged past $100 a barrel. We will ultimately have to pass this nearly 30% increase on to our customers," Eduard Ayach, president of Asetrans in Girona and of the CETCAT transport federation, told the Catalan News Agency (ACN), adding that the situation is having a "significant impact."

"In the transport sector we always want maximum stability in the price of raw materials, and we call on the Spanish government to activate an aid package to cope with this rise in fuel prices," Ayach said.

He said the sector would welcome measures like giving fuel costs greater influence on prices, government rebates, or a "flat rate" for diesel and petrol, noting that some European Union countries have already supported hauliers through fuel tax measures. 

"We are concerned that the conflict could drag on, destabilising road transport volumes and activity," Ayach said.

The CETCAT president argued that large multinational food retailers such as Mercadona finds it easier to justify a price increase on supermarket shelves.

"Now we, as a sector, have to play that role," he said, adding that companies have already made, or will have to make in the coming days, some trips at a loss.

"In the end we will have paid more for fuel than was budgeted and we will have to absorb it ourselves," Ayach concluded.