Our latest fleet renewal involved the purchase of 10 MAN D30 tractor units fitted with a new engine, which has enabled us to improve efficiency and safety through the incorporation of new active and passive safety technology.

Today we’d like to tell you that we’re continuing with the fleet renewal, but this time it’s the trailers’ turn. We’ve added 10 new isothermal tankers, which will replace part of our fleet.

These tankers are manufactured by Parcisa, part of the Polalsa Group, which has over 50 years’ experience in manufacturing this type of trailer.

These new units will enable us to increase the number of vehicles capable of carrying up to 32,000 litres or 44 tonnes in a single convoy, resulting in greater efficiency and cost savings per litre when transporting food-grade liquids.

Each of these trailers is fitted with external thermographs in each of the four compartments into which it is divided, making it easy to check the temperature from one of its sides.

This compartmentalisation plays an important role in safety as it helps to stabilise the load and minimise inertial forces caused by the shifting of liquids. All tankers are fitted with internal ribs that act as breakwaters for the liquid being transported, which is highly dangerous due to the inertial impacts it generates during braking, acceleration, and also when cornering and changing direction; however, the new tankers added to the fleet are fully compartmentalised, representing a further step towards reducing these inertial forces as it allows us to operate the tanker at half load, for example by completely filling two of the four compartments. This even makes it possible to diversify the type of load by transporting olive oil in two compartments and drinking water in the other two; or it is even possible to transport different types of oil in each of the compartments.

These units also join the ranks of vehicles capable of transporting higher-density food-grade liquids, such as glucose or high-density oils, as they are all equipped with lobe pumps capable of loading the 32,000 litres in a very short time.

Finally, these new tankers incorporate all the rollover prevention and safety measures in accordance with the latest regulations, such as the inclusion of pressure sensors on all tyres, which allow the driver to receive real-time information about the inflation pressure and temperature of each of the trailer’s tyres.

In this way, at Rios Sangiao we are continuing with our policy of incorporating the latest technical and technological improvements into our vehicles to improve efficiency and save costs. We are confident that this will help us to be even more reliable and, ultimately, to continue arriving on time every time.

August should be a quiet month of maintaining business levels, with activity picking up again in September without any major developments, but the truth is that this month is not like that.

We are living through a period of unprecedented global uncertainty due to armed conflicts and the stances taken by the main countries involved in them. Furthermore, we are in the midst of a major bilateral trade war over global economic hegemony. What could possibly go wrong?

Although old Europe isn’t fully embroiled in the ‘fight’ (for better or worse), it’s still taking the brunt of it. We felt the consequences at the time of the massive surge in commodity prices following the war in Ukraine, and fuel prices drove up the cost of everything else (apart from products such as cereals, which had already risen without any help).

Yesterday, fuel prices once again edged towards record highs when the United States decided that Iran had crossed its red line, but they were ultimately held in check by the mirage of an agreement between the opposing sides in the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly 20 per cent of the world’s crude oil passes.

Today, that mirage is fading once more, like someone approaching an oasis in the desert, whilst crude oil is weighing ever more heavily on the pockets of half the world.

Meanwhile, in Spain, we in the transport sector – and, for our part, the food liquids transport sector – are once again relying on government promises that sound like support for the sector in the form of rebates and compensation for fuel price rises. We are working on it, but we know from past experience that it is difficult to finalise this support and that by the time the money starts to flow, too much time has already passed.

To be specific, diesel prices in Europe in the second quarter of 2026 rose by 27 per cent compared with the same period in 2025, reaching €2.19 per litre, causing operating costs to rise by approximately 10 per cent according to the French Comité National Routier, and this increase is set to be passed on to shippers.

As if that were not enough, as we mentioned in our previous post, road transport faces a significant shortage of skilled workers, amounting to 13 per cent of all vacancies. To put this into perspective, nearly half a million jobs need to be filled. This means that companies lack the flexibility to adapt to changes in demand, leading to higher operating costs.

So the outlook is not the best. There is high demand for the transport of liquid foodstuffs, but the challenges facing the sector are unpredictable and complex because the solution generally lies in macroeconomics.

Be that as it may, we will continue to do what we do best and remain committed to our customers.