It could take up to five years for UK ports to get back to pre-pandemic freight levels, with rising costs, bottlenecks, driver shortages and Brexit delaying recovery. Commercial vehicle finance company Asset Alliance have uncovered what ports are most likely to be affected and how businesses can plan for this.

2022 is expected to bring more disruption due to labour disputes and logistic issues, costing British businesses’; these delays have already caused 1 in 5 companies to lose potential business.

Where Are The Busiest Ports That Most Likely To Be Affected?

3 of the 10 busiest ports in the UK are also the most expensive in Europe; however, the UK has the highest shipping costs due to supply chain issues.

With almost 40 million metric tons of cargo handled in the first three quarters of last year, London is the busiest port in the country, followed by Grimsby & Immingham in Lincolnshire County, handling 36.8 million metric tons. The Port of Felixstowe is Britain’s largest and busiest, but it had the most cancellations of any European port in the last half of 2021, putting it in seventh place.

How Businesses Can Plan

This year, businesses can do a few things to plan around delays and bottlenecks.

Investigate backup transportation: Some companies are looking at emergency transportation backup, like air, rail, or road, to avoid potential lost sales or delays.
Use alternative routes: Not all ports are equally congested, and rerouting could be a successful strategy, provided there are enough drivers to access alternative ports.

Source from alternative suppliers: With most companies reviewing their sustainability policies and looking to domestic sourcing, alternative suppliers could eliminate the need to use ports.

“With sites located close to all the major ports; Manchester, central to Liverpool and Grimsby /Immingham, Ipswich covering London and Felixstowe, Newmains supporting Scotland and our new office in Belfast covering Northern Ireland we are situated ideally to support those who choose shipping via port or air for their freight movement.” – Brian Kempson, Sales Director, Truck and Trailer Sales