Storm Ingrid is beginning to have a visible impact on supermarket supply chains, with delivery lorries unable to reach shops across large parts of the country, particularly in the north.
It comes after the traffic authority (DGT) decided to halt or severely limit lorry movements overnight due to yellow and orange weather warnings for snow on dozens of major roads.
Many supermarket delivery vehicles have been unable to operate since midnight, delaying the restocking of food and everyday products on Friday.
According to the ASEDAS – which represents Spain’s main supermarket chains – the stoppage is affecting all types of products, but particularly fresh goods, which rely on tight delivery windows.
Industry sources say delays of up to seven hours are already being recorded in various parts of Spain, especially in the north-west, where snowfall and road restrictions have been most severe.
While supermarket shelves remain stocked for now, the sector warns that continued disruption could quickly cause problems if deliveries are not able to resume.
ASEDAS has described the DGT’s decision, arguing that in many areas roads were still passable when lorries were ordered to stop.
‘We have lost a huge number of operating hours,’ supermarket logistics sources told Spanish media. ‘In many places the roads are clean, yet deliveries are blocked.’
The association is calling for restrictions to be lifted as soon as conditions allow, warning of the ‘enormous problem’ being created for the transport of essential goods, even though it stresses that there is currently no shortage in supermarkets.
It has also asked citizens to avoid stockpiling on supermarket goods ‘to ensure supply’.
The scale of the disruption is illustrated by the situation on the A-52 Rías Baixas motorway, a key route into Galicia.
According to government sources in Zamora, around 440 lorries and heavy goods vehicles heading towards Galicia have been held overnight in service areas after restrictions were imposed on a long stretch of the motorway.
