Hot on the heels of the airport walk-out, Italy’s logistics sector faced fresh disruption as employees of Mercitalia Shunting & Terminal (FS Group) began a 24-hour national strike at 21:00 on 6 July, ending at 21:00 on 7 July. The USB Lavoro Privato union accuses the freight-rail subsidiary of ignoring safety complaints and delaying renewal of the supplemental contract that lapsed in December 2025. Mercitalia controls shunting operations in most Italian ports and intermodal hubs—including Gioia Tauro, Verona Quadrante Europa and Milan Smistamento—so stoppages quickly cascaded through supply chains.
Interporto Bologna reported a 42 % drop in rail moves during the first night shift, forcing operators to re-route containers onto trucks and clogging the A1 motorway with extra heavy-goods traffic. Although passenger services were unaffected, companies relying on just-in-time deliveries of automotive parts and refrigerated food reported delays of up to 12 hours.
![Mercitalia Rail-Freight Staff Strike Hits Italian Logistics Corridors]()
For corporate travel coordinators trying to move staff or inspectors into the country during the unrest, securing the right entry documents quickly becomes another moving part. VisaHQ streamlines Italian visa applications with digital forms, door-to-door passport courier options, and real-time status alerts, allowing companies to focus on rerouting cargo rather than chasing consular appointments.
Some forwarders invoked force-majeure clauses; others shifted exports to Austria’s Rail Cargo Group, incurring surcharges of €150-€250 per forty-foot equivalent unit. HR and mobility managers moving technicians or project cargo should monitor local port-authority bulletins, especially at Genoa Prà and La Spezia, where shunting backlogs can delay customs clearance for project-workers’ tools. The strike also underscores rising labour tensions across the FS Group ahead of its planned IPO in early 2027. Meetings at the Ministry of Transport are set for 15 July. USB warns that without a safety and wage accord it will stage rolling 8-hour strikes every Monday in August—potentially overlapping with Italy’s busiest export season.
Interporto Bologna reported a 42 % drop in rail moves during the first night shift, forcing operators to re-route containers onto trucks and clogging the A1 motorway with extra heavy-goods traffic. Although passenger services were unaffected, companies relying on just-in-time deliveries of automotive parts and refrigerated food reported delays of up to 12 hours.
For corporate travel coordinators trying to move staff or inspectors into the country during the unrest, securing the right entry documents quickly becomes another moving part. VisaHQ streamlines Italian visa applications with digital forms, door-to-door passport courier options, and real-time status alerts, allowing companies to focus on rerouting cargo rather than chasing consular appointments.
Some forwarders invoked force-majeure clauses; others shifted exports to Austria’s Rail Cargo Group, incurring surcharges of €150-€250 per forty-foot equivalent unit. HR and mobility managers moving technicians or project cargo should monitor local port-authority bulletins, especially at Genoa Prà and La Spezia, where shunting backlogs can delay customs clearance for project-workers’ tools. The strike also underscores rising labour tensions across the FS Group ahead of its planned IPO in early 2027. Meetings at the Ministry of Transport are set for 15 July. USB warns that without a safety and wage accord it will stage rolling 8-hour strikes every Monday in August—potentially overlapping with Italy’s busiest export season.
