Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe / Bloomberg
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe / Bloomberg
The day the UK makes its last break with the European Union, ports have no backups of trucks, goods move smoothly and supermarket shelves are well stocked.
However, British companies that rely on products that cross the border every day for £ 1.2 billion ($ 1.6 billion) run no risk. On Thursday at 11pm, Brexit becomes real.
Companies were already stockpiling and exploring alternatives to the crowded ferry-truck route down the English Channel when France unexpectedly closed its border for two days last week, citing an outbreak of Covid-19 in the UK. The interruption produced miles long backups at the port of Dover: a warning of potential chaos when 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 companies have redoubled their efforts to ease the pressure on truck traffic by increasing shipments of air freight, container ferries and air cargo. With the arrival of the New Year on a long weekend, worries about the immediate replay of last week’s show have waned. The port and its users will have the opportunity to enter the new reality of a customs regime at the old open border.
“It should be quiet at least the first few days,” said Richard Ballantyne, who heads the British Ports Association. “If there are shots of people showing up without the right documentation, if it happens at any time, it’s better.”
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Dover remains the UK’s most important link with the EU, the country’s largest trading partner. Still, the amount of tonnage has decreased steadily since the year of the Brexit vote: it fell by 14% from 2016 to 2019, Sample of data from the Department of Transport. Meanwhile, other ports have gained business: Liverpool traffic grew 7.6% and London Medway increased 43%.
Avoiding Dover
The unanswered question is what happens in the coming weeks and months. With Britain’s exit from the single market will come a multitude of regulations and customs formalities that threaten to erode the free flow of trade and add costs to importers and exporters on both sides of the division.
The trend towards other unaccompanied ports and freight moving by train or ferry, along with additional shipments of vital air freight, is expected to continue into the new year, according to port officials and logistics companies.
Container volumes traveling between the port of Tilbury, on the River Thames, east London, and Zeebrugge, Belgium, increased by a fifth in December as companies sought alternatives to short straits. P&O Ferries Ltd. has added an additional boat to the route to meet demand.
A member of the military checks the documentation of the trucks in the port of Dover on 31 December.
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe / Bloomberg
Charles Hammond, CEO of the owner of Tilbury Forth Ports Ltd., credits the coronavirus pandemic to change the dynamics of the logistics industry. Unaccompanied transportation is “the answer to several questions of our time,” he said.
Container ferries
Kuehne + Nagel International AG, one of the largest freight companies in Europe, has switched some goods from trucks to container ferries. Truck merchandise is dropped off and picked up on both sides, something some smaller companies are unable to do.
The company continues to move goods through the English Channel through roll-up ferries, having implemented software that will facilitate customs clearance. The number of formalities has multiplied by five due to the new procedures, said Kuehne + Nagel spokesman Dominique Nadelhofer.
Companies that rely on the frictionless movement of parts choose to keep their reserves for now.
Reaction engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc maintains an additional inventory worth £ 100m as it monitors the flow of goods over the next few weeks, according to a spokesman. It is unclear when it will return to normal levels.
Supermarket route
Products that cannot be stored for a long time remain a concern, and the plane is being asked to clarify the remnants of last week’s shutdown. The charging unit of Deutsche Lufthansa AG will fly another Boeing Co. 777F full of urgently needed products (fruit, vegetables, clothing, oilfield equipment, medical equipment and parts for jet engines) Thursday Frankfurt at Doncaster Sheffield Airport in England.
Photographer: Ralph Orlowski / Bloomberg
Then, on January 2, there will be a load of 100 tons of fruit and vegetables destined for supermarkets such as J Sainsbury Plc, Tesco Plc, Food Cooperative and Aldi Stores Ltd.
Lufthansa Cargo is exploring ways to ship goods from France to Ireland by ferry instead of transporting them across the UK, which “currently makes little sense,” said spokeswoman Jacqueline Casini.
The potential shortage of truckers is a lingering concern over last week’s disruption, which ran aground fresh seafood in trucks heading to Europe and sent non-stop fish prices. Some drivers may “wait and see” before returning to the UK and others will ask for more money, said Shane Brennan, general manager of the Cold Chain Federation, which represents promoters of frozen and refrigerated products.
The UK government on Wednesday extended a commercial credit insurance program that protects sellers from default, a move that will provide more support to the supply chain.
The acid test for British infrastructure will arrive next week, when traffic returns to normal levels, said Jimmy Buchan, CEO of the Scottish Seafood Association. “Right now, buyers will buy to export and replace empty shelves,” he said. “Demand will be quite high.”
Ireland, which depends on truck traffic from the UK and mainland Europe, has hired an additional 1,500 people to deal with issues such as taxes and customs, as well as animal controls.
Irish officials warned of possible significant disruptions that will occur as Brexit becomes a reality, although the delays may not be taken advantage of until next week. Two new ferris will start service from Rosslare to Dunkirk, France, on Saturday, adding one that has already been added.
In Rotterdam, officials have booked three times as much parking as they expect the port to need for trucks that show up with the wrong paperwork. Noranta per cent of ferry users have signed Until their digital system, they said.
Despite planning, some disruptions are inevitable, said Tim Morris, CEO of the UK’s Great Ports Group.
“Ports and shipping companies are as prepared as they can be,” Morris said. “Out of our control is the preparation of British companies and how pragmatic European nations will be about border agreements.”
– With the assistance of Charlotte Ryan, Ellen Proper and Dara Doyle
(Updates with Irish ferries added to paragraph 21)