UK ports back in vogue

Delivering the 2006 Grout Lecture, hosted by the UK’s Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, Mr Hammond told delegates that ports had always been of strategic importance to the UK economy, but the current unprecedented levels of investment and popularity underlined that fact, with 66% of ownership now in private hands compared with just 8% in 1980.

Almost £3bn has been invested in UK ports over the past decade as the “old” business rationale of high fixed and unchangeable costs and focus on volume has been replaced by the “new” dynamic added-value supply chain investment model, he said.

“The economic impact of ports, both regionally and nationally, has been underestimated for some time, although the government now appears to be waking up to the reality,” said Mr Hammond. “When you know that around 95% of all UK imports and exports arrive and depart by sea, you begin to understand the influence of the ports industry.” Mr Hammond was speaking a few days after the UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) released its maritime statistics for 2005, which showed that freight traffic through UK ports rose by 2% last year.

Imports were up by 3% to 354m tonnes and exports were up by less than 0.5% to 231m tonnes. Container traffic was up 3%, while roro and bulk traffic grew 2%. International sea passenger journeys fell by 7% to 24.7m.

The top three ports by volume retained their positions – Grimsby & Immingham handling 60.7m tonnes, Tees & Hartlepool 55.8m tonnes and London 53.8m tonnes. Southampton moved into fourth place with 39.9m tonnes, swapping places with Milford Haven, 37.5m tonnes.

Dover, the UK’s leading ro-ro port, handled 2m freight units, an increase of 3%, while the top container port, Felixstowe, saw an increase of 1% to 1.7m containers.