The increase in fuel prices due to the war in Iran is beginning to strain the treasury of the transportation companies. transport. The Spanish Confederation of Freight Transport (CETM)the majority organization in the sector, has called on the oil companies operating in Spain to fTemporarily relax the credit limits associated with fuel cards used by transport companies, as well as in purchases intended for consumption at their own post, given the sharp increase in the price of diesel derived from the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.
According to the CETM, the increase in fuel prices is causing many companies to “they reach the credit limits established in these payment systems more quickly, which makes it seriously difficult to maintain the daily operations of road freight transportation”.
The CETM assures that this situation is affecting “transport companies of all sizes, which see how the increase in the price of diesel significantly increases its liquidity needs to be able to continue carrying out its activity normally“.
Transporters often use professional fuel cards for refueling. In order to obtain them, they have to present a guarantee for double the estimated monthly consumption, then settling the amount spent in the first five days of the following month. But with the rise in fuel prices, they will exceed that guarantee before the end of the month and will not be able to refuel with that professional card, which is the one used to recover professional diesel, explain sources in the sector.
In the current context, the CETM considers that maintaining the credit limits for the purchase of fuel unchanged at a time of strong price increases “it can make it difficult for many companies to continue refueling or supplying their own facilities, which could cause tensions in the supply chain, since road transport moves more than 95% of the goods consumed in Spain”.
The transport of goods by road is currently pending the next Council of Ministers next Tuesday. The National Road Transport Committee, the sector’s presentation body, met on Wednesday with the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, to demand urgent support measures. At the meeting, direct support of up to 1,500 euros per vehicle and discounts of 25 cents per liter of fuel were proposed. Some claims that, according to the transporters, Puente promised to raise for study and possible approval in the next Council of Ministers.