Nine organisations involved in the supply of goods to the UK have written to UK transport minister Grant Schapps this week to warn that the current levels of congestion at the country’s leading container ports could continue for some time to come.
The freight, logistics, shipping and ports organisations explained that COVID-19 and Brexit provide the backdrop to the chaos that has unfolded at the UK’s maritime gateways, with the first wave of the pandemic bringing disruption to global ocean shipping services; and more turmoil followed when different economies came out of lockdown at different times.
One consequence were delays in the return of empty containers from Europe to Asia leading to shortages, particularly at Chinese ports and whose full impact began to be felt as the sector entered its traditional period of high demand on east-west trade lanes in the early autumn, the group’s highlighted. And the problem has been further compounded by factors specific to the UK such as a surge in imports as the end of the Brexit transition period nears and also by significant quantities of COVID-related PPE which is adding to the strain on storage and warehouse capacity at the country’s ports.
In their letter, the signatories, which included the UK Chamber of Shipping, the British Ports Association, the Road Haulage Association, and Logistics UK, remarked: “Although we are hopeful that the current peak of port congestion has passed, high volumes remain and could persist for some months, running into the period of the end of the EU transition. Therefore, challenges remain.”
The letter continued: “The current situation has arisen in part from imbalances that accumulated over months. Reversing this accumulation is not an overnight task.
“Additionally, UK factors such as the imminent end of the EU transition period may well bring disruption, at least in the short term – an area where more urgent work is required and where container movement has until very recently received little attention in the government’s planning.”
While underlining that supply chain players were “seeking solutions ourselves” to issues and “are not complacent”, the letter called for urgent help from the government to relieve the congestion – including greater flexibility for trucks to operate on roads, increased access to the rail network for freight trains; and more long-term, the relaxing of planning regulations, providing scope for new warehouses to be built in proximity to ports.
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