ROAD HAULIER: ANTHROPOLOGY OF A TRADE

The road haulage sector of goods and people is fundamental for the correct operation of the economy. Practically all the other merchandise areas, in particular those of the food and vegetable and manufacturing nature depend on its quality and efficiency. Every day, in Italy, several tons of merchandise of several types are handled with heavy vehicles, lorries and vans, while more than one million people move by taxi, car and rental coach with driver. Lorry drivers, taxi drivers and chauffeurs are on a daily basis at the service of the community and this book tells their story. We start with the carters, passed the small coachmen and the drivers of omnibus of over a century ago to the current challenges of a sector that has already faced and overcome numerous critical issues. In this story, the history of CNA Fita – the representative organisation of independent and small and medium company road haulage – is narrated which was started in 1974 and therefore has been the interpreter of half a century of commitment at the service of the members. In reality, its origins go back to the post-Second World War period. But only fifty years ago, at the time of the establishment of the National Register of Road Haulage, did it adopt a fully autonomous structure. The book mixes anthropology, history, and economics to analyse and explain the evolution of a trade and to give the reader a more accurate awareness of the importance of the sector.