Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe / Bloomberg
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe / Bloomberg
On the day the UK takes its last break with the European Union, ports are not protected by trucks, goods move easily and grocery store shelves are well stocked.
Even so, British companies that rely on products worth about £ 1.2 billion ($ 1.6 billion) every day do not take risks. On Thursday at 11 pm, Brexit becomes real.
Companies were already stockpiling and exploring alternatives to the crowded ferry truck route across the English Channel, when France unexpectedly closed its border for two days last week, citing a rapid Covid-19 outbreak in Britain. backups at the port of Dover – a warning blow for potential chaos as the Brexit transition period ends.
A police officer is at the entrance to Dover Harbor on December 31.
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe / Bloomberg
In response, logistics firms have redoubled their efforts to reduce pressure on truck traffic by stepping up air freight, container ferry and air freight. With the arrival of the New Year on a long weekend, worries about the immediate replay of last week’s show have abated. The port and its users will have the chance to enter the new reality of a customs regime at the previously opened border.
“It should be quiet at least for the first few days,” said Richard Ballantyne, who heads the British Ports Association. “If there are people who appear without the correct documentation, if it happens at any time, it is better to be then.”
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Dover remains Britain’s most important link with the EU, the country’s largest trading partner. However, the amount of tonnage has has been steadily declining since the Brexit vote – down 14% from 2016 to 2019, The Department of Transportation shows the data. Meanwhile, other ports gained business: traffic in Liverpool increased by 7.6%, and London Medway increased by 43%.
Avoiding Dover
The unanswered question is what happens in the coming weeks and months. With Britain leaving the single market, they are coming a series of customs regulations and documents that threaten to reduce the free movement of trade and add costs for importers and exporters on both sides of the division.
The trend towards other ports and the transport of unaccompanied goods traveling by train or ferry, together with additional air transport of vital goods, is expected to continue in the new year, according to port officials and logistics firms.
The volume of containers traveling between the port of Tilbury, on the River Thames east of London and Zeebrugge, Belgium, increased by a fifth in December, as companies looked for alternatives to the short straits. P&O Ferries Ltd. has added an additional vessel to the route to meet demand.
An army member is checking documents for trucks at the port of Dover on December 31.
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe / Bloomberg
Charles Hammond, executive director of the Tilbury owner Forth Ports Ltd., credits the coronavirus pandemic with the changing dynamics of the logistics industry. Unaccompanied transportation is “the answer to a number of questions of our time,” he said.
Container Ferries
Kuehne + Nagel International AG, one of the largest shipping companies in Europe, has changed some goods from trucks to container ferries. The goods are dropped off and picked up by the truck on both sides, which some smaller companies cannot do.
The company also transports goods across the English Channel through roll-on truck ferries, after implementing software that will make customs clearance easier. The number of documents has increased fivefold due to the new procedures, said Kuehne + Nagel spokesman Dominique Nadelhofer.
Firms that rely on the frictionless movement of parts opt for stock maintenance for the time being.
Manufacturer of jet engines Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc has an additional stock of £ 100 million as it monitors the flow of goods in the coming weeks, according to a spokesman. It is unclear when it will return to normal levels.
The food route
Products that cannot be stored for long remain a concern, with planes being called in to clean up last week’s closing remnants. Cargo unit of Deutsche Lufthansa AG will fly another Boeing Co. 777F full of emergency goods – fruit, vegetables, clothing, oilfield equipment, medical equipment and parts for jet engines – from Frankfurt to Doncaster Sheffield Airport in England on Thursday.
Photographer: Ralph Orlowski / Bloomberg
This will be followed by a shipment of 100 tonnes of fruit and vegetables on 2 January, destined for supermarkets such as J Sainsbury Plc, Tesco Plc, Co-op Food and Aldi Ltd. stores
Lufthansa Cargo is exploring ways to ship goods from France to Ireland by ferry instead of transporting them across the UK, which “doesn’t make much sense right now,” said spokeswoman Jacqueline Casini.
A potential truck shortage is a persistent concern due to last week’s outage, which blocked fresh seafood in trucks heading to Europe and sent them fish prices are great. Some drivers may “wait and see” before returning to the UK, and others will demand more money, said Shane Brennan, CEO of the Federation for the Cold Chain, which represents people moving frozen and refrigerated goods.
The UK government on Wednesday extended a trade credit insurance program to protect sellers from default, a measure that will provide additional support to the supply chain.
The acid test for British infrastructure will take place next week, when traffic returns to normal, said Jimmy Buchan, executive director of the Scottish Seafood Association. “At that time, buyers will buy to export and fill empty shelves,” he said. “The demand will be quite high.”
Ireland, which relies on truck traffic in the UK and thus in mainland Europe, has employed an additional 1,500 staff to deal with issues such as taxes and customs, as well as animal controls.
Irish officials have warned of potential significant disruptions that will occur as Brexit becomes a reality, although delays may not occur until next week. Two new ferries will begin service from Rosslare to Dunkirk, France, on Saturday, enlarging one that has already been added.
In Rotterdam, officials have booked three times the parking area the port expects to have for trucks that appear with the wrong documents. Ninety percent of ferry users signed up to its digital system, they said.
Despite planning, some disruptions are inevitable, said Tim Morris, CEO of Major Ports Group in the UK.
“Ports and shipping companies are very prepared,” Morris said. “Outside of our control is how prepared British business is and how pragmatic European nations will be about border arrangements.”
– With the assistance of Charlotte Ryan, Ellen Proper and Dara Doyle
(Updates with Irish ferries added in paragraph 21)