A surge of stockpiling by UK companies before the end of the Brexit transition period on January 1 has triggered road congestion and costly delays in northern France and southern England as lorries queue for cross-Channel ferries and the tunnel on one of the world’s busiest freight routes.
“We had delays of up to seven or eight hours at the end of last week on the French side,” said Loic Chavaroche, chief Brexit officer of logistics group ATS. “We are at the end of Brexit, but at the beginning of the difficulties of crossing the Channel.”
The sharp rise in truck traffic to the UK across the Channel — exacerbated by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on international freight flows — reflects a drive by UK businesses to stockpile imported products and raw materials in case of border delays caused by the new trade regime that will apply in the new year when the transition period ends and the UK finally leaves the single market.
Customs, security and health documents will be required for goods flowing from the UK to the EU regardless of whether the two sides reach a last-minute agreement on a zero-tariff trading arrangement for the future. On Wednesday European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told MEPs that there was now a path to a deal, albeit a narrow one.
“There’s a strong rise in traffic flows, up 30-50 per cent on some days compared to last year, depending on the day,” said Sébastien Rivera of the National Road Transport Federation in the Calais region. “The main explanation is that the UK is stocking up in anticipation.
“We reckon that at the start of January, given this stockpiling, there will be a fall in volumes — not a bad thing given the extra administrative and customs procedures.”
Nearly half of the members of the UK’s Food and Drink Federation said an increase in stockpiling was having a significant impact on their business in the third quarter, said FDF chief executive Ian Wright.
“Our members are stockpiling finished goods near the point of sale and ingredients near the point of manufacture,” he said. “The reason they’re stockpiling is because they fear serious disruption to supplies in the case of a no-deal Brexit, which would have implications for product availability and choice. Prices may rise too but we will not run out of food.”
Across the UK companies like Securon, a seatbelt manufacturer in Amersham, have been stockpiling supplies in case of a no deal Brexit © Charlie Bibby/FT
MakeUK, the manufacturers’ group, said its data show that 23 per cent of manufacturers have been stockpiling, though a further 25 per cent are not because the pandemic has made it unaffordable. Another 34 per cent do not see the need to stockpile, 9 per cent did it last year and do not want to do it again while 10 per cent reckon there will be a deal that eliminates the need for extra stocks.
Logistics companies say the strain has been building for several weeks on the busy routes by rail tunnel and ferry across the strait between Dover and Calais, which, according to Channel Tunnel operator Getlink, account for 90 per cent of truck-borne trade between the UK and the EU and 50 per cent of all trade in goods.
On top of the usual pre-Christmas rush, the ports have had to handle supplies of personal protective equipment, medicines and now vaccines to deal with Covid-19 as well as shipments diverted from congested UK ports such as Felixstowe to Rotterdam which then need to be trans-shipped across the Channel. Honda stopped production at its Swindon plant last week when it ran out of imported components.
The Chemical Industries Association said the industry was facing “increased difficulty” in both importing and exporting chemicals because of global pressures which were hampering efforts to stockpile ahead of January 1. “There is already a 16-day wait on securing a berth on critical exports,” said a spokesperson, adding that SMEs facing cash flow issues as a result of Covid-19 were struggling to build stockpiles.
Getlink, which runs the Channel Tunnel and its truck-carrying trains, said freight traffic was well above its forecasts for the season and November volumes were 11 per cent higher than last year. “We are using all the additional [truck-parking] capacity we built up over the past couple of years,” said Getlink’s John Keefe.
Port authorities in Dover and Calais say the sea crossing is constrained at present because ferry companies have cut the number of ferries they allocate to the route, given the lack of tourist cars and passengers because of the latest phase of the pandemic.
Lorry numbers at Dover have neared a 2017 record in the past week © Toby Melville/Reuters
Tim Reardon, head of EU exit for the Port of Dover said lorry numbers last week were 24 per cent above the same week last year and also above 2018 levels, with about 10,000 passing through Dover on Wednesday and Thursday, close to the record 10,500 of November 2017.
“We think there are a number of factors at play — November is always the busiest month being pre-Christmas — but this year the general consensus is that the numbers are a combination of pre-Brexit stockpiling and a natural bounceback from a slow summer caused by coronavirus,” he said.
After January, even if congestion eases in the first few weeks, the cost of transport across the Channel is expected to rise because of the increased complexity and form-filling involved in crossing between two markets with different regulations. France has hired hundreds of additional customs officers and veterinary experts for its Channel ports and built holding areas for trucks delayed by incorrect paperwork.
Mr Chavaroche of ATS estimated that costs could rise by as much as 25 per cent because of new customs clearance procedures, delays, and a possible shortage of drivers, given that many are east Europeans who will not automatically be allowed to work in the UK after it has left the EU and the single market.
Source: Economy - ft.com
