Post-Brexit EU-UK airfreight increase unlikely to persist

The increased interest in airfreight for exports between the United Kingdom and EU — as a way to circumvent post-Brexit slowdowns in trucked freight — is unlikely to be long term. Instead, European supply chains will have to adjust to accommodate new rules and fees for shipments between the EU and UK. [caption id="attachment_76561" align="alignright" width="499"] Lufthansa operated a freighter into the U.K. carrying 80 tonnes of perishables before Christmas. Photo/Lufthansa[/caption] A recent webinar from online forwarder Flexport on the outlook for U.K. trade under current Brexit trade agreements noted that shippers are currently seeking alternatives to road transport to and from the U.K. Even prior to Brexit, Germany’s Lufthansa operated an emergency cargo flight with 80 tonnes of perishables ahead of the holiday season . Trucking between the U.K. and France was later brought to a standstill after a new, more infectious strain of COVID-19 was detected in the U.K., and France temporarily closed its border to all traffic from the U.K. Since then, trucking has resumed. However, while trucking congestion has remained manageable despite the transition to new trade agreements between the U.K. and EU, this is primarily due to decreased trade on the route rather than smooth post-Brexit customs operations, according to Christos Chamberlain, Flexport’s general manager for the U.K. Shipments moving by truck are experiencing higher rejection rates than before, as shippers encounter unfamiliar requirements. “In early January, 2,000 to 3,000 trucks per day were moving across the channel, while a normal daily figure is between 5,000 to 6,000 trucks,” said Chamberlain during Flexport’s webinar. “Some of [the decrease] is due to pre-Brexit stockpiling, but some is due to businesses staying away from EU-U.K. trade, at least for now. That’s all just due to new rules around customs requirements that came into effect.” According to Chamberlain, while Flexport has “received a number of requests for airfreight from the EU into the U.K.” rather than using road transport, the shift is unlikely to be long-term. Longer term, businesses are more likely to rethink their European distribution models, he said, particularly companies that have previously used the U.K. as a European hub. “Customs clearance requirements and rules of origin mean there is a clear benefit now to establishing distribution hub in mainland Europe if you’re doing business in Europe,” Chamberlain said. For volumes moving into the U.K., he emphasized the new importance of consolidating import volumes in mainland Europe before crossing the border into the U.K. “Previously, cutting down the number of shipments from Europe into the U.K. was less relevant, but now each individual shipment will incur costs of customs clearance,” Chamberlain said. “Shipping is fundamentally shifting in terms of trade between the EU and U.K.”

Post-Brexit EU-UK airfreight increase unlikely to persist

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