Following a dip in freight volumes in December, ferry operator DFDS reports truck crossings on Dover to Calais and Dunkirk routes have increased and could surpass January 2020 and 2019 figures.
According to the carrier, December cargo volumes, adjusted to account for route changes, were down 9.8% on the same month of 2020, but up 17% compared with 2019.
“The decrease in total volumes compared with 2020 was entirely due to lower …
The post DFDS reports return of freight through Dover after...
DFDS is set to inject further capacity into UK-continental Europe supply chains on 1 June, when its launches an unaccompanied ro-ro service between the port of Sheerness, on the juncture of the Thames and Medway rivers, and Calais.
The daily service, one sailing in each direction, will be operated by DFDS’s ro-pax vessel, Gothia Seaways (pictured above), which has capacity for 165 unaccompanied units and is currently deployed on the Baltic Sea.
Wayne Bullen, …
The post DFDS set to launch...
https://theloadstar.com/dfds-set-to-launch-sheerness-calais-daily-unaccompanied-ro-ro-service/
The UK government must act now to address failings in its post-Brexit border operating policy if its much-welcomed postponement of border checks are to do more than just delay “disaster”.
UK Brexit mastermind Michael Gove informed Parliament late last week that pre-notification requirements for products of animal origin, animal by-products, and high-risk food not of animal origin, would be implemented in October, rather than April as originally planned.
It was also announced …
The post Deferring...
UK Brexit mastermind Michael Gove has informed Parliament that the UK will be delaying the roll out of its second and third phases of post-Brexit border procedures.
The news comes after weeks of growing concern that government’s phased implementation risked an existential collapse of the country’s supply chains, which have been placed under intense pressure by twin burdens of Brexit and the ongoing global pandemic.
Speculation emerged late last week that government …
The post UK delays...
https://theloadstar.com/uk-delays-implementation-of-phased-brexit-border-checks/
Port Boulogne Calais chairman Jean-Marc Puissesseau hopes the phasing-in of additional UK border checks will be as “smooth” as the initial transition into the post-Brexit trading environment.
He told The Loadstar the French gateway had experienced “no problems” since the end of transition period on 31 December.
Mr Puissesseau said: “At the very start of January, around 45% of trucks coming from the UK were being asked to park and go through additional checks, but this is down to about 12%, …
https://theloadstar.com/brexit-no-problem-on-our-side-says-port-of-calais-boulogne-chairman/
European road freight shipment visibility platform Transporeon has questioned the idea that Europe faces continent-wide trailer shortages as a result of increasing haulier reluctance to serve the UK post-Brexit.
Sources have told The Loadstar that red tape and associated delays were scaring-off EU drivers – paid per kilometre, and in some cases facing 12-hour delays – from coming to the UK without guarantees that they will be paid for round trips.
One source predicted that driver shortages...
Despite the dramatic decline in passenger numbers last year, a fourth-quarter surge in freight volumes helped mitigate the decline in Danish ferry operator DFDS’s profitability.
“Passenger results were wiped out by the pandemic,” chief executive Torben Carlson said, referring to a 93% year-on-year decline in numbers, “but we also saw how resilient our freight business is.”
Fourth-quarter freight volumes on its North Sea routes were up 16%, and 17% on cross-Channel services, attributed to...
https://theloadstar.com/resilient-freight-business-rescues-a-tough-year-for-dfds/
Post-Brexit regulations are generating fears of trailer shortages and surging freight rates that could resemble those seen across ocean container supply chains.
Sources have told The Loadstar EU-based truck drivers are refusing to come to the UK unless there’s a back load, or the importer covers the cost of the empty return leg.
They are citing additional time and heightened bureaucracy, with concerns that as volumes pick up, so too will delays and rates.
“No …
The post Fears that post-Brexit...
https://theloadstar.com/fears-that-post-brexit-regime-may-lead-to-trailer-shortage-and-higher-rates/
Truckers heading to the port of Dover once post-Brexit volumes recover could find themselves stuck for up to 20 days in 70,000-long truck queue.
That is unless new infrastructure is built, extra staff hired and considerable cargo volumes diverted to other ports, according to new modelling undertaken by Simul8.
It says if truck check-in times increase to 20 minutes at Dover, which would put it in line with non-EU member customs policy, …
The post Digital simulation predicts 20-day wait in...
https://theloadstar.com/digital-simulation-predicts-20-day-wait-in-70000-truck-queue-to-dover/
DB Schenker is facing further criticism over its decision to temporarily suspend services into the UK.
One source told The Loadstar the Germany-headquartered forwarder’s decision to cut the cord on clients with such little notice was “unbelievable”.
And it asked how a multinational conducting international customs clearance on a global scale had reached this point.
“If this was a company established post-1992 that had only ever operated trucking services through Europe, I could …
The post Critici...
https://theloadstar.com/criticism-rains-down-on-db-schenker-but-loss-of-eu-uk-services-may-spread/