The circulation of traffic on the network of motorways (above, seen during the blockage) run by Italy's Autostrada Group has returned to normal without any signs of hold-ups, reported AGI this afternoon. Photo: AP.

The circulation of traffic on the network of motorways run by Italy's Autostrada Group has returned to normal without any signs of hold-ups, reported AGI this afternoon. The news comes in a memo released by the company. The last road blockages set up by truck drivers were removed overnight.

Service areas in Italy are also receiving supplies once more. In order to facilitate the return to normal flows, the Port of Genoa is regulating its influx of heavy vehicles, without any drawbacks for traffic as a whole. A Ministerial ruling has allowed trucks on the roads both on Saturday and Sunday this weekend to enable supplies to get through.

Fiat's production facilities across Italy were badly hit by the strike as shortages of components saw 22,000 workers sent home. Melfi, which builds the Grande Punto came to a halt. The company warned that it expected all its 50,000 staff to be laid off if the strike has continued.

"In the end it was the sense of responsibility that has won the day," said Italy's Transport Minister Alessandro Bianchi, commenting today on the suspension of the truck drivers' strike, reported AGI. "The issue has been resolved," said Undersecretary to the Italian Prime Minister, Enrico Letta, with reference to the truck-drivers' strike.

Unions involved in the truckers' dispute called off the nationwide protest on Wednesday evening after talks with government officials yielded an offer of 30 million euros to help pay for motorway tolls, reported ANSA. Meanwhile, petrol companies assured that all filling stations would be back to normal by Friday and the first trucks left wholesale markets in big cities carrying fruit and vegetables to supermarkets.

''The government must now respect every letter of the commitments made, otherwise we're ready to switch off our engines again,'' said Maurizio Longo, of the CNA Fita truckers' union told ANSA. As well as 30 million euros for motorway tolls, the accord struck on Wednesday evening involved minimum tariffs for haulage services and standard client contracts in order to protect smaller firms.