MADRID—Spain's car industry came to a virtual standstill on Wednesday because of a nationwide strike by truck drivers angry at the soaring price of fuel.
The car makers' association Anfac said all of Spain's 18 car factories, which produce 13,000 vehicles a day and account for about 5 percent of Spain's GDP, would be out of action by Thursday because of a lack of parts and fuel.
In recent days truckers across Spain have also blocked deliveries of fuel and food—sparking a rush by consumers to stockpile staple goods—and have jammed up motorways, causing travel chaos for millions. The dispute has become increasingly violent—one protester was killed on Tuesday.
Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said police had arrested at least 51 protesters since the strike began on Monday, 34 of them for blocking the main motorway from Madrid to the north.
Police have so far escorted almost 3,000 trucks carrying food, fuel and medical supplies to their destinations, and Rubalcaba told distributors to call police if they needed protection to move goods by road.
He warned those on the picket lines that, although they had a right to strike, they had no right to hurt the interests of ordinary people.
"We will continue to act with maximum force against those who want to disturb public order," he told a news conference.
Seat, Mercedes-Benz, Renault, Nissan, Citroen, Peugeot and Iveco all have factories in Spain as does Ford, whose Vigo plant was one of the few still operating on Wednesday, an Anfac spokesman said.
Fuel Shortages
Some parts of Spain were already suffering fuel shortages after protesters picketed fuel depots.
Many market stall holders—particularly traders in fruit, vegetables and fish—say they only have supplies for another day or two. Some Madrid supermarkets were stripped bare of all fresh meat, fish vegetables and fruit.
One truck driver sleeping at a picket line near the southeastern city Alicante suffered severe burns when his cab caught fire in what police suspect was arson.
The fire which started at 4 a.m. (0200 GMT) completely destroyed the vehicle and three other trucks.
A day earlier, one striking truck driver was run over by a van and killed in Granada, while in Portugal, a striker died as he tried to stop a truck on a road north of Lisbon.
The Portuguese capital's main airport ran out of fuel because of the strike—causing delays but no cancellations—but Spain's main airports are supplied by pipelines and were unaffected, a spokeswoman at the airport operator AENA said.
Spanish Infrastructure Minister Magdalena Alvarez told parliament the government and the main haulage association had agreed terms.
However, the two other groups, representing most of the strikers, were continuing to demand that the government set a minimum tariff for their services, which Alvarez said was impossible.
In the northeastern region of Catalonia, police said they had managed to clear protesters and reopen the Jonquera border crossing with France.
Diesel has risen to around 1.30 euros ($2.01) a litre from 0.95 euros a year ago, pushing heavy fuel users such as truck and taxi drivers, fishermen and farmers across Europe to demand support from their governments.
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