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The crisis of the lack of professional drivers is present throughout Europe and is seriously affecting our sector. The main reason for this growing shortage of drivers is that the profession is not attractive enough and newer generations are less and less interested in accessing it.

Why are we missing professional drivers?

• Average age of the group: the legal age to enter the profession in Spain is 21 years old, so potential young candidates head in other employment directions and, once located in other sectors, it is difficult to reconsider their employment situation.

• The training: despite drivers’ wages being up to five times the average minimum wage, the high licence costs and a lack of training are yet another obstacle to the profession.

• Working conditions: the lack of infrastructure and safe, high-quality rest areas so that drivers can work in decent working conditions also represents a significant barrier for the sector. Also the lack of family reconciliation due to the long trips that force many drivers to spend nights away from their homes.

• The role of women: In Spain, women represent a very low percentage of lorry drivers, mainly due to job insecurity and the lack of family reconciliation.

How to help turn this situation around?

All the stakeholders involved in the sector should commit as much as possible to make the driving profession more accessible and attractive. 

On behalf of the Spanish public authorities, the International Road Transport Union (IRU) stresses the need to facilitate access to the profession, setting the minimum age for driving at 18 years, with training starting at age 17, subsidising permit costs and training for new drivers and building safer parking areas.

At Calsina Carré, as carriers with more than 50 years of experience, we are also committed to the crisis in the sector and we are doing our part to help solve it:

1. Creation of a logistics hub with decent services for drivers and secure parking (Calsina Carré Services): 400 secure parking spaces with 24-hour video surveillance and 150,000 m2 of facilities with high-quality services for drivers in Pont de Molins (15 km from the French border): gas station, tyre assistance, specific repairs, car wash, shower modules, vending space to eat, Wi-Fi, laundry service, space for suitcases/personal belongings and rest area. 

We participate in the European secure parking network giving a clear focus on safety and quality and backed by the EU Gold certificate following EU standards.

2. We promote reconciliation and remuneration in accordance with the driver’s responsibility: we respect, plan and remunerate the actions of the professional driver. We recognise and remunerate any special permit and action that entails more responsibility or demand. We also limit the obligations of the driver at the destination and origin of cargo.

3. We compensate using alternative means: we promote intermodality as a lever for capacity and we redefine the role of the driver in shorter domestic sections that allow for an earlier return home.

In a European context of lack of infrastructure for transporters to be able to carry out their profession with dignity and ensure compliance with regulations, there is a need for commitment by the organizations that constitute the sector to improve drivers’ working conditions. This is how Calsina Carré Servicescame into being. At Calsina Carré we have decided to open its facilities to external drivers. Doing so, Calsina Carré aims to improve the quality of professional drivers’ breaks with a wide range of services, in a safe and protected environment. Our addesd value is that we already are a fleet operator with 50 years of experience and very knowledgeable about the sector needs.

Calsina Carré Services is a translogistic hub strategically located in the Mediterranean Corridor, 18 kilometres from the French border. Its location is also next to Vilamalla, future intermodal and logistical zone of the province.

To take this step, Calsina Carré, who already boasted very powerful facilities at the Pont de Molins headquarters, has chosen to invest extra in order to guarantee the highest service quality. We have made a major effort to expand areas in order to provide 100k m2 equipped with different services and facilities specially intended for drivers and their vehicles. Calsina Carré Services has currently 400 parking spaces available, however, the company is planning a second phase of the project for the end of 2023, which foresees an expansion of the parking area along with new service modules.

The gas station, which until now had 4 lanes, has been remodeled by doubling this number to ensure easy access and avoid queues. The station stocks diesel, diesel A, AdBlue and gasoline and has its own staff to provide assistance if needed.

The area enabled for external carriers is equipped by modules with everything the driver may need during the resting period of his trip: restrooms, showers, laundry service, luggage storage room, vending machines, wifi and rest area.

Calsina Carré Services was born with a clear focus on security and quality. All facilities are equipped with 24h video surveillance cameras, controlled access barriers and a whole integrated IT system based on QR codes. All these improvements catapulted the company forward to obtain one of the highest quality certifications for the European save and secure truck parking areas: the Gold level of the EU-Parking Standard.

The services devised for the vehicle are also included in these facilities, which feature a washing tunnel, the possibility of tire assistance and punctual repairs, along with the sale of safety elements and replacement spares.

In addition, we can offer all the logistical support as a carrier with 50 years of experience: the possibility of storage, movement of goods and even transport collaborations.

Calsina Carré Services is a major commitment to the future of the company, which intends to continue growing and searching for opportunities to improve the sector by providing value, proficiency and service.

All the information at: https://calsinacarreservices.com/en/

 

The intermodal transport is an essential sector, both from an economic and an environmental point of view. We are convinced that the future is intermodal. The urgent need to make the planet sustainable has led us here. The opportunity it offers us in the face of a new, more conciliatory operator, also leads us here. Last year alone, by using this service, we reduced CO2 emissions by more than 6 million kg. Due to all of this, for five years we have been significantly intensifying intermodal operations: investing in a prepared fleet and a new operational team aimed at this type of service. A firm commitment to a type of service that, while it won’t replace road, will be a complement to it.

The advantages of intermodal over terrestrial transport are many. A combination of the two modes is optimal for the transport of goods. Maritime transportallows for the transport of large cargo volumes, as well as for exchanging goods between countries without a land connection. For its part, rail transport is indispensable if we want to achieve the levels of reduction in greenhouse gases. For distances greater than 300 km, the European Commission has requested that traffic be carried up to 30% by rail. The train consumes five times less energy than a lorry, so the rail infrastructure system must adapt to road routes and be highly flexible.

It is important that supply chains see the need to boost intermodal transport and, at the same time, that the governments of every country invest in main rail routes between the points where there is a greater traffic of goods. In regard to Spain, although the Mediterranean corridor offers the greatest potential traffic on the peninsula, the railway lines are still insufficient.

Calsina Carré is one of the main transporters in the industry that operates from the railway terminals in the south of France Le Boulou, Perpignan) with destinations to several European countries. The journey, however, has only just begun and the potential is very high. This past year, we have already started operating on train departures from Romania (Curtici, Oradea). Alternative solutions to connect Morocco, such as the ferry from Tangier to Barcelona or the future Algeciras-Zaragoza railway line, are getting closer.

At Calsina Carré we are clear, reducing emissions is our guarantee for the future.

We have recently added 70 vans and 40 curtainside trailers, from our supplier Lecitrailer, to our fleet in order to reinforce our intermodal services. We currently have a fleet of more than 600 tractor units and more than 800 semi-trailers. With this expansion, we are consolidating our strategic commitment to intermodal transport and our development in the Maghreb.

One of our main commitments is responsibility towards the environment and operating in a sustainable way, which is why we have invested in specialized semi-trailers to carry out intermodal transport, the P400. We also use rail transport and the intermodal system located in the south of France. Thanks to these sustainable transport measures, during the past year, we have saved more than 2 million kilos of CO2 in the atmosphere.

The 40 P400 Huckepack curtainsider semi-trailersare provided with supportive reinforcements on the chassis so that they can easily be hooked up, lifted and placed on rail wagons. They also have protections and mooring systems for ferries.

The 70 dry van trailers are very resistant and can also be transported thanks to their mooring system. This addition provides a greater presence in the Maghreb, a market to which we are fully committed and in which we are among the top 3 transport companies in the industry. In the Maghreb, we operate with this type of van in order to increase the security of our merchandise and ensure that no theft can take place. The dry van is impenetrable, unlike the curtainsider.

One of our strategic commitments is to logistics development in the Maghreb. We have more than 10 years of experience in the Moroccan market, are currently in the top 5 international carriers in Morocco and we register more than 10,000 shipments per year through Algeciras.

We have our own facilities in Tangier with offices, fleet parking and mechanical workshop. We also have warehousing in collaboration with our partners.

We have a dedicated fleet with box-type semi-trailers for greater protection of the merchandise. However, if required by the client requires, we also offer the possibility of curtainsider transport.

To consolidate this strategic commitment and our expertise in the North African territory, we have a team of more than 100 local professionals with market know-how.

This week, we presented our first 33 metre and 70-tonne capacity duotrailer and we are one of the pioneer companies in promoting these in Catalonia. This combination allows us to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 25% per journey, as well as offering significant savings in logistics costs in transport.

Calsina Carré’s commitment to the future is o put technology and innovation at the service of the environment. Last year we renewed our fleet by incorporating new vans and ecological tyres, and currently, we also operate intermodality offering rail and maritime transport. Continuing along this same line, we now present our first trailer low-emission trailer duo.

With this new addition and our collaboration with the Lear Corporation, we are consolidating our commitment to sustainable transport on our routes to the Maghreb, a market in which we are expanding fully and which currently accounts for 40% of the group’s global operations.

We have a special permit granted by the Spanish General Directorate of Transit (DGT) to operate this type of vehicle on the road since the duo trailer is not currently authorised for general use in Spain. This research project is carried out in collaboration with the Spanish Ministry of Transport and the DGT and will culminate in a report to demonstrate its efficiency, safety and sustainability so that their use in Spain can be authorised in future.

The Scandinavian countries already allow duo trailerto operate freely, having been regulated and legalized due to the positive results obtained in previous studies. Spain is one of the most advanced European countries for this type of trial and probably one of the next to obtain this regulation.