UK freight falls

The latest UK Short Sea Capacity Report shows that the impact has been felt across all market sectors – apart from the Irish Sea where capacity has actually increased by 5.9%.

UK short sea capacity now stands at 14.2 million trailer (or forty foot container) units, says the report, broken down into five distinct market sectors; Near Continent, Channel (including Eurotunnel), Irish Sea, Scandinavia and the Baltic. Most (nearly 80%) of this total capacity is RoRo ferry based, with the next contender being LoLo with an 11% share. The Channel Tunnel shuttle and through train services currently provide the remaining 10%.

Peter Baker at PRB Associates, the firm behind the research, points out that “the capacity report provides a detailed analysis and assessment of how operators have attempted to match capacity supply with falling demand,” and explains that “falls in the volumes carried far exceed current capacity reductions, meaning that operators are under pressure, hoping to ‘weather the storm’ before recovery takes hold.”