UK Ports “Broken” reports BBC

The BBC quotes an unnamed freight director in an alarming report this morning. A more succinct or graphic word than “broken” would be hard to find to describe the parlous conditions that reign throughout the UK’s sea ports this month.

Congestion charges levied by carriers and increased shipping rates will add to the price of imported goods this festive season and likely for many months to come. To add the industry’s woes there are a shortage of empty containers and fewer ships putting to sea.

Bottlenecks have been experienced by all of the major ports and business has warned government that something needs to be done. In a letter to Grant Shapps, the UK Transport Secretary, Tim Morris, the chief executive of the UK Major Ports Group, has written:

“We recognise government’s capacity to step in is limited, but where they can, they should look at ways of increasing the capacity for moving containers on and off ports… That could mean running more and longer trains to and from ports, allowing hauliers more flexibility to collect containers out of normal hours, and for drivers to take on longer shifts where that can be done safely.”