The chaos of the Brexit border is forcing truckers to avoid deliveries in the UK

Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe / Bloomberg

European freight forwarders reject UK freight contracts over fears the chaos in Dover could be repeated after Brexit.

Transporeon, a German software company that monitors real-time data on freight traffic and tariffs for more than 100,000 logistics service providers, said a “dramatic number” of freight forwarders had refused to transport goods to the UK in recent years. two weeks, despite the fact that agreed contracts.

This is because companies – which receive and deliver goods on behalf of other companies – are worried that they will not be able to return with the so-called backload or that they may be stuck in queues when trying to leave the UK.

The rejection rate of goods from France to the UK tripled almost last week – compared to the average for the third quarter – and doubled for the Germany-UK route, as transport demand fell by 68% for France-UK and 71% for Germany-Great Britain.

Freight forwarders are usually less busy around Christmas – when drivers take their leave and close businesses – and the decline was expected to be more pronounced this year after businesses stocked spare parts, food and production materials in the third. quarter. However, Oliver Kahrs of Transporeon said that these factors alone could not explain the decline in demand.

“When the trucks did not manage to cross the canal, this being an extraordinary situation, which is not comparable to what we had last year “, he said. Kahrs attributed the higher rejection rates to chaos in Dover last week and also mentioned concerns that there could be more logam after Britain leave the single market and customs union on Thursday.

The British government is still facing the Kent riot, which was triggered by France which blocked cross-channel traffic for 48 hours to reduce the spread of Covid-19.

One In a letter on Tuesday, Logistics UK warned that the lack of adequate toilets or hot food in the Port of Dover during the blockade was a “national embarrassment”, adding that if the chaos was repeated on 1 January, “this lack of concern it could have an impact on the willingness of EU carriers to send their drivers to this country. “