San Antonio Truckers Block Depots Over Freight Rates and Fuel Price Hikes
Cubierto por 3 fuentesPublicado
- mundo maritimoCamioneros bloquean accesos a depósitos de contenedores en el Puerto de San Antonio
- mas cointainerSan Antonio under pressure: truckers block depots and halt the movement of 800 containers
- Portal PortuarioCamioneros bloquean accesos a depósitos extraportuarios de San Antonio
- Portal PortuarioCNDC expresa apoyo a camioneros movilizados en San Antonio
Independent truckers in San Antonio, organized under the Agrupación de Camioneros Independientes de San Antonio (Agreporsai), launched an indefinite stoppage on the night of Wednesday, October 28, blocking access to the off-dock depots in the commune. The measure prevents trucks used to move containers between port terminals and storage areas from entering or leaving, and is a response to rising fuel prices, the lack of adjustment in freight rates, and rejection of the new TAG toll charges planned as part of the Route 78 expansion.
Affected depots and stranded trucks
The blockade affects off-dock depots such as Sitrans, Agunsa, D&C, Contopsa, SIS, Merlo, Medlog and SIX, according to various sources. More than 40 truckers are directly taking part in the protest, while around 200 trucks remain stranded. According to Manuel Araya, a leader of Agreporsai, the stoppage has left around 600 containers pending discharge from the port untransported, along with another 200 containers corresponding to a shipment — a figure one outlet put at a total of 800 containers, specifying that 600 were to move from the port to Contopsa and 200 from SIS to DP World.
Demand for better rates and dialogue with the Government
The union is demanding a review of freight rates, which it says have been frozen since 2021-2022 and do not reflect rising costs such as fuel, spare parts and maintenance. It is also calling for greater transparency in the rate structures set by cargo generators and for those costs to be passed on to shipping lines and companies responsible for the cargo. Araya said they had already met with the Undersecretary of Economy, Karl Franz Köhler, but are now demanding that a government representative travel to San Antonio to negotiate on site, ruling out further talks in Santiago.
Backing from the CNDC
The Confederación Nacional de Dueños de Camiones de Chile (CNDC) expressed support for the protest, without joining the stoppage. The organization said the rates denounced by Agreporsai have remained frozen in some cases for years and do not reflect the rise in freight costs, which worsened after the fuel price increase in March, and it called on the Government and companies to negotiate new working conditions with truckers.
Port operations
Despite the blockade of the depots, the concessioned terminals at the Port of San Antonio were operating normally at the time of reporting, though closely monitoring how the situation develops. The container ships Chastine Maersk and Polar Colombia were berthed at San Antonio Terminal Internacional (STI), and the CMA CGM Carl Antoine at DP World, with a planned total of 7,800 container moves across the three vessels, of which 3,850 correspond to exports and 3,950 to imports.
