Asedas, the main supermarket association in Spain, which brings together companies such as Mercadona, Lidl or Dia, warns of a possible risk of shortages in supermarkets in the northwest of the peninsula due to the cuts that the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) has carried out since this morning to traffic, and also to truck traffic, on the main roads of Castilla y León and on the accesses to Galicia, Asturias and Cantabria, due to the snow that It is expected to fall in the area this Friday.
According to Asedas calculations, around 150 establishments in the area would already be affected by a lack of products, having not been able to receive the merchandise from the trucks that are kept bagged by the DGT, to which more could be added from other areas that depend on the affected warehouses. “Hundreds of trucks have been stopped since last night and it is not clear when they will be able to leave, and that is generating a service problem for warehouses and service for stores,” explains the general director of Asedas, Ignacio García Magarzo. This explains that the traffic closures occurred before the snowfall began.
The Asedas spokesperson warns of a delay of more than 10 hours in the supply of food products. Supermarkets, due to their need for constant replenishment, receive product daily, so delays in the supply chain end up affecting store operations almost immediately. “This time it has been managed in an unusual way. We ask that the transportation of goods be prioritized, always respecting safety limitations. But the trucks have been stopped for almost 10 hours without snow,” he says.
This area, especially the outskirts of León, is key for the supply of supermarkets in Castilla y León, Galicia, Asturias and Cantabria. In it, the main food distribution operators have warehouses: Mercadona has a logistics block in the town of Villadangos del Páramo, where Lidl and Dia also have new platforms planned. Gadisa has a logistics platform, in its case in Ponferrada.
The DGT yesterday advised avoiding road travel in the northwest of the peninsula, due to the arrival of the storm Ingrid, which will leave snowfall at low levels in addition to strong winds and rain. Aemet’s forecasts stated that the worst scenario was expected for this Friday, especially in the afternoon, with yellow and orange warnings for snow that will last throughout the weekend. In this scenario, Traffic announced a restriction of circulation to goods vehicles of more than 7,500 joules of maximum authorized mass for certain sections, “in order to guarantee safety conditions and the circulation of emergency vehicles”, starting at midnight and on an exceptional basis.
