AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

Call our Sales Team on 0208 912 2120

Falling UK port volumes test container hauliers

23rd April 2009, Page 6
23rd April 2009
Page 6
Page 6, 23rd April 2009 — Falling UK port volumes test container hauliers
Close
Noticed an error?
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.

Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

CM COVER STORY By Roger Brown A MAJOR drop in UK port volumes has led to leading container specialists predicting that there could be 'casualties' as the country's intermodal operators are battered by the recession.

Wincanton, which last year spent £44.5m acquiring container transport specialists Hanbury Davies and CEL, believes UK container volumes have slumped some 20% since the UK went into recession, based on its experience.

Operations director of Wincanton's container logistics business, Elaine Miller, says: "It is our view retail sales are showing we have hit the bottom, and it will be a slow climb back towards growth. Eventually, however, in the years to come, we will exceed current port capacity. Along the way, we would expect some casualties as the market adjusts to the current realities."

Andrew McNab, business development director at fellow container specialist Maritime Transport, based in Felixstowe, says: -Up until Christmas volumes were strong, but this year volumes have dropped. People are just not spending on things like electrical goods from China."

The impact of the slump in imports is being felt in all corners of the UK's port infrastructure.

DP World, which runs the Port of Southampton. revealed that it will review major projects, including the London Gateway development (CM 28 Aug 2008); it is cutting about 60 jobs from its workforce at Southampton in response to what it sees as the "decline in UK containerised trade volumes" Brian Tattersall, managing director at Pentalver Transport, based in Southampton, reveals that the number of containers coming through UK ports from overseas has dropped "massively" over the past few months, and that the situation at the moment is considered "dire': Tattersall continues: -It's an optimistic person who thinks that things are going to pick up at the end of this year."

Meanwhile container traffic at

Mersey Docks has dropped by approximately 7% year on year, with a slump of 25% in the first quarter of 2009 despite no actual reduction in shipping traffic.

• Make sure you see next week's edition of Commercial Motor for an in-depth investigation into how the recession is having an affect on UK port volumes and the surrounding infrastructures.

FRI...FOR THE LATEST HEWS VISIT: camcm


comments powered by Disqus