Fiat's
Italian car production hit last week after a wave of
strikes by truckers protesting at rising fuel prices
blocked key roads and forced the Italian carmaker to
stop production at its five key domestic factories,
although by the end of the week the situation was
returning to normal.
With
many major routes blocked Fiat's supply chain was
disrupted and by Tuesday its factories at Pomigliano
d'Arco, Cassino, Melfi, Mirafiori and Sevel Val di
Sangro had all slowed to a halt. The action had started
on Sunday, spreading nationwide after Sicily had been
gripped by protests the week before. A taxi drivers
strike on Monday, prompted by government plans to
deregulate the profession, also added to the chaos.
However with Fiat's Italian plants operating far below
capacity and sales steadily dropping, it is unclear how
much of a long-term impact the strikes will have caused.
Fiat was reported to have lost 4,200 cars a day last
week as production stalled.
However by Thursday, with police dispersing some
of the protestors and barricades, matters were improving. "The
situation is slowly getting better and we are gradually
returning to normal," Federdistribuzione told
ANSA on the basis of reports it was getting from
around Italy. "We are confident that in a couple of days
the problem will have been completely sorted".
By yesterday (Friday)
Fiat was able to resume a second shift working at the
key Pomigliano d'Arco factory located near Naples. This
former Alfa Romeo plant has just started building the
new A-segment Fiat Panda after a comprehensive refit.
