Chunnel cheer
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• Eurotunnel has increased freight volumes by almost 62% in the past three months and renewed its claims to have overtaken P&O as the Channel's biggest freight carrier.
Operators privately confirm that Eurotunnel has become the cheapest crossChannel route for volume bookings since a price war broke out earlier this year. But hauliers are coy about rumours that the fixed link operator is offering a third truck crossing free with every iwo bookings. "The polite way to put it is that Le Shuttle has come out better," says one international haulier, "but as for threefor-Iwo: no comment."
P&O continues to accuse Eurotunnel of unfairly leaving its Calais-Zeebrugge route out of the comparisons although some Eurotunnel customers are driving to northern Europe. P&O still dominates the Channel crossing market if the Zeebrugge route is taken into account.
Despite the increase, analysts say Eurotunnel has no chance of reaching the 650,000 truck target it must meet this year.