The Comitato Trasportatori Siciliani (CTS) has announced a halt to third-party road haulage services in Sicily from 00.01 on Friday 16 October 2026 until 24.00 on Tuesday 20 October. The action was announced in a letter dated 28 September, signed by assembly secretary Salvatore Bella and sent to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the transport minister, Regione Siciliana (Sicilian Regional Government) president Renato Schifani, regional infrastructure and mobility councillor Alessandro Aricò, the Commissione di Garanzia sugli Scioperi (Guarantee Commission on Strikes), and the prefects of Palermo, Catania and Messina.
The action is based on two failures that the committee attributes to the government. It says commitments made by the transport ministry at a meeting in April have not been honoured because the first annual instalment of the Sea Modal Shift incentive, supporting combined road-sea transport and due by June, has not been paid. For some companies this is the first payment, while for others it is the final balance. The committee also says no measures have been introduced to address higher diesel costs. The average self-service diesel price on Italy's road network stood at €2.369 a litre on 28 September, rising to €2.420 on motorways, according to figures from the Ministry of Industry. The stoppage will involve no demonstrations or pickets: trucks will remain at company depots and semi-trailers will not be collected from the island's ports. The letter sets 20 October as the end of the action, although the accompanying statement links its duration to the government's response and says vehicles will remain stationary until answers are provided. According to the CTS, losses range from €700 to €900 per truck per day.
At regional level, the committee acknowledges the administration's willingness to act but considers its scope limited. The €15 million allocated to road haulage will shortly be made available to companies operating between one and five trucks that have not exceeded the de minimis ceiling. Companies consuming more than 500,000 litres of diesel a month will have to wait longer, however, because the regional infrastructure department has not yet notified the measure to the European Commission. Without authorisation, these operators will only be able to use any remaining de minimis allowance and a so-called €50,000 super de minimis provision, against additional diesel costs that the CTS estimates at €120,000 a month for a large fleet. The committee calculates that the contribution will be exhausted within one month.
The letter comes three days after an agreement with the regional government. On 23 September, the committee was called to a meeting by the transport department and Aricò. On 24 September, Bella announced a voluntary suspension of services at company depots, and the following day an agreement was reached on the implementing decree for Regional Law 13/2026, brokered by Assemblea Regionale Siciliana (Sicilian Regional Assembly) president Gaetano Galvagno and regional councillors Aricò and Alessandro Dagnino, who is responsible for the economy portfolio. The measure allocates €15 million of the €30 million announced in May to road haulage for the period from 1 March to 31 December 2026, with a further €10 million for agriculture and €5 million for fisheries. It combines de minimis aid with aid exceeding de minimis thresholds, with the latter subject to notification to and approval by the European Commission. The committee nevertheless maintained its state of mobilisation that day, with a stoppage proposed for 15 to 20 October but still subject to formal declaration. The 28 September letter formally calls the action and moves the starting date to 16 October.
The regional contribution is a non-repayable grant covering up to 70% of the additional costs incurred during the period and is reserved for third-party road haulage companies that have had their registered office in Sicily for at least 24 months. The Sea Modal Shift scheme is governed for the 2023-2026 period by Interministerial Decree 166 of 11 October 2023 and is managed by RAM on behalf of the ministry. It provides for a theoretical maximum of €0.30 per vehicle-kilometre avoided. For the first annual period, according to a ministry note dated 15 June, declared funding requirements amounted to around €240 million, while €52.9 million was available, enough to cover 22% of applications, resulting in an effective contribution of just over €0.06. On 25 September, the Sicilian committee reported delays in payments for the first and second annual periods and a lack of funding for the third, while the 28 September letter refers only to the first. The CTS had already called a halt to intermodal operations at Sicilian ports between 13 and 18 April, with around 90% of companies taking part. The committee has requested a meeting in Rome with the transport ministry, for which no date had been set as of 25 September.
