France Protests: Data Reveals 8% Drop in Logistics Activity on Strike Days
Market Monday - Week 41 - Insights into the implications for road transport and logistics
Nationwide protests and strikes against the government’s planned austerity budget have again occurred in France. The most recent strike occurred on October 2nd, it was the third major event since the new Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, took office.
The October 2nd event was comparably smaller than the previous protests on September 10th and 18th, where, depending on the reporting body, between 500,000 and up to a million people participated in Paris and other major cities.
How did these events affect the transport and logistics industry?
We are interested in the implications and, therefore, analysed our platform data for potential impact indicators. Based on our Dock & Yard Management data, the chart shows the distribution of timeslots booked in France in September. They are compared to the weekday average for September, represented by 100% (orange line).
Source: Transporeon Dock & Yard Management
Two days of protests, strike announcements and potential disruptions occurred on September the 10th and 18th. Both protest days, highlighted on the chart in gold, show reduced activity compared to the other weekdays. Measured against the individual weekday average, we can derive an impact of 8% reduced loading/unloading activity on strike days in France compared to a usual September operation.
While final figures for the 2nd of October aren’t available yet, and participation in the protests was lower, we anticipate a similar impact of around 8% reduced loading/unloading activity. A singular day of reduced activity would not lead to significant operational efficiency reductions; several events in a row and the uncertainty of which parts of the country will be affected could lead to a higher operational complexity. Consequently, this results in a squeezing effect for the available transport capacity and higher carrier costs.
Prime Minister Lecornu’s resignation today, coming only hours after the introduction of the new government, is likely to bring only a brief period of calm. The underlying issues that caused the protests remain and are intensifying. In the medium term, we must anticipate further protests and potential disruptions to the transport and logistics sector in France.
Christian Dolderer
Lead Research Analyst
Trimble Transportation (Transporeon)