Work accidents in the transport industry
Published: 9 February 2006
The Italian transport industry makes higher than average use of the road system (88%, compared with an EU average of 74.6%), due to the underdevelopment of internal shipping (both coastal trade and river navigation) and inefficiencies in the Italian railway system.
The number of reported accidents in the Italian transport industry shows a decline in the last three years; however, levels are still higher than the average in the Italian workplace, and the number of fatal accidents is still increasing. This is despite the introduction of an EU standard road code in 2003. Nonetheless, conflicting estimates about the size of the transport industry indicate that it is necessary to evaluate such trends with caution.
The Italian transport industry makes higher than average use of the road system (88%, compared with an EU average of 74.6%), due to the underdevelopment of internal shipping (both coastal trade and river navigation) and inefficiencies in the Italian railway system.
According to Istat, the national statistics office, (Istat, 2003 (abstract with link to purchase; in Italian) and Istat, 2005 (1.24Mb pdf; in Italian), the industry comprises more than 120,000 companies, with over 300,000 employed people (43% of whom are employees), which amounts to almost 27% of transport companies in the EU15. The average company size is very small (just 2.1 employed per firm for hauliers). However, according to the [research unit of Confetra (174Kb pdf; in Italian)](http://www.confetra.it/it/centrostudi/doc_pdf/quaderni_QUADERNO N. 113.pdf), the employers’ industry federation associated to Confidustria, the figures reported in Istat’s 1996 census underestimate the actual numbers - especially of one-person companies - by at least 30,000. The industry has experienced high levels of fragmentation and subcontracting since the late 1970s, similar to other manufacturing sectors.
Istat records that, since the late 1990s, the number of companies has decreased, especially very small or one-person companies, while employment levels continue to increase, although at a slower rate. However, neither the employer nor worker organisations share this view: by cross-referencing other administrative sources (the Chambers of Commerce registers of firms and Motorizzazione Civile, the public register of motor vehicles), they found that the number of single-truck operations is still growing. A report will be presented during 2006.
Since the mid-1980s, large companies focused on managing their network, and on logistics and handling, while road transport was outsourced to very small companies, mostly with just one truck and with little bargaining power. Strong competition among the small enterprises kept the prices down for the large companies, but such savings were largely balanced by higher coordination costs ([Ufficio Studi Confetra, 2004 (6.28Mb pdf; in Italian)](http://www.confetra.it/it/centrostudi/doc_pdf/quaderni_QUADERNO N. 125.pdf)).
This implies that road carriers are mainly self-employed and usually have to travel longer hours than stipulated by national and EU-level regulations on working time (according to trade union officials, 60-65 hours a week on average). In addition, they have little control over their working time and the pace of work (see the Foundation report ‘ EU road freight transport sector: Work and employment conditions’), and are less likely to report work-related accidents.
| 1998 | 2000 | 2003 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Companies | Number employed | Companies | Number employed | Companies | Number employed | |
| One person employed | 77,858 | 77,858 | 75,174 | 75,174 | 69,715 | 69,715 |
| 2-5 persons | 28,280 | 76,090 | 29,081 | 78,912 | 31,457 | 84,469 |
| 6-10 persons | 5,041 | 38,278 | 5,516 | 41,862 | 6,002 | 45,622 |
| 11-20 persons | 2,191 | 30,842 | 2,614 | 36,942 | 2,759 | 39,028 |
| 21-100 persons | 1,126 | 41,459 | 1,353 | 50,395 | 1,407 | 51,584 |
| Over 100 persons | 87 | 21,361 | 115 | 27,535 | 105 | 24,007 |
| Total | 114,583 | 285,888 | 113,853 | 310,820 | 111,445 | 314,425 |
Source: Istat, 2003 and 2005
Reporting work-related accidents
According to the 2004 annual report of Inail, the Italian agency for insurance against work-related accidents, the levels of reported work-related accidents in the transport industry declined both in absolute values and in occurrence rates, but the rates are still well above the average occurrence rates (Table 2) and the gap remains stable over time.
| 1998-2000 | 1999-2001 | 2000-2002 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transport | Average | Transport | Average | Transport | Average | |
| Temporary disability | 47.29 | 37.94 | 46.24 | 37.54 | 42.77 | 34.19 |
| Permanent disability | 4.75 | 2.88 | 3.57 | 2.18 | 2.46 | 1.49 |
| Death | 0.30 | 0.09 | 0.28 | 0.08 | 0.23 | 0.06 |
| Total | 52.34 | 40.91 | 50.09 | 39.79 | 45.46 | 35.74 |
| Index number (comparing transport with the average = 100) | 127.90 | 100.00 | 125.90 | 100.00 | 127.20 | 100.00 |
Source: Inail annual reports, various years
| Type of transport | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | Total | |
| By land | 32,045 | 1,484 | 33,529 | 29,500 | 1,354 | 30,854 | 28,532 | 1,364 | 29,896 |
| - of which conveyance of goods | 18,146 | 608 | 18,754 | 17,869 | 570 | 18,439 | 17,342 | 520 | 17,862 |
| By sea | 267 | 21 | 288 | 256 | 33 | 289 | 205 | 38 | 243 |
| By air | 321 | 56 | 377 | 317 | 70 | 387 | 256 | 56 | 312 |
| Support activities | 18,919 | 2,990 | 21,909 | 20,012 | 3,202 | 23,214 | 19,216 | 3,161 | 22,377 |
| Total | 51,552 | 4,551 | 56,103 | 50,085 | 4,659 | 54,744 | 48,209 | 4,619 | 52,828 |
Source: Inail, 2005
| Type of transport | 2003-2002 | 2004-2003 | 2004-2002 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | Total | |
| By land | -7.9 | -8.8 | -8.0 | -3.3 | 0.7 | -3.1 | -11.0 | -8.1 | -10.8 |
| - of which conveyance of goods | -1.5 | -6.3 | -1.7 | -2.9 | -8.8 | -3.1 | -4.4 | -14.5 | -4.8 |
| By sea | -4.1 | 57.1 | 0.3 | -19.9 | 15.2 | -15.9 | -23.2 | 81.0 | -15.6 |
| By air | -1.2 | 25.0 | 2.7 | -19.2 | -20.0 | -19.4 | -20.2 | 0.0 | -17.2 |
| Support activities | 5.8 | 7.1 | 6.0 | -4.0 | -1.3 | -3.6 | 1.6 | 5.7 | 2.1 |
| Overall rate for entire transport industry | -2.8 | 2.4 | -2.4 | -3.7 | -0.9 | -3.5 | -6.5 | 1.5 | -5.8 |
Source: Inail, 2005
The figures in Tables 3 and 4 show a significant reduction in accidents in transport by land over the two-year period (more than 10%), especially for men, but this reduction is far lower for the transport of commodities (less than 5%). The decline is related to the introduction of the new driving code in 2003, bringing it into line with EU practice, which has resulted in a general reduction in road accidents since the second quarter of 2003.
However, examining these figures more closely reveals some contradictions: the number of deaths increased from 181 in 2003 to almost 200 in 2004, while work-related accidents in support activities, such as logistics and handling, declined slightly in 2004, but the 2002-2004 trend is still moving upwards. It seems that the new code has not resulted in improved conditions throughout the transport industry.
Industry developments may also contribute to these different trends. Most Italian logistic operators expanded their network of agencies in the new Member States in the early 2000s, in order to supply the international transport needs of their customers - notably Italian manufacturers in traditional industries (particularly clothing and footwear) that have redeployed their operations to eastern Europe since the late 1990s to avail of lower labour costs. The logistic operators are also hiring hauliers from the new Member States, thus replacing Italian workers.
In conclusion, conflicting estimates about the size of the industry in Italy, as Confetra shows - and the fact that self-employed workers can be reluctant to report work-related accidents - mean that the data must be interpreted with some caution in generalising a downward trend.
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2006), Work accidents in the transport industry, article.
This website is an official website of the European Union.
All official European Union website addresses are in the europa.eu domain.
See all EU institutions and bodies