The House of Commons voted against Theresa May’s Brexit plan by a 230 majority yesterday, the biggest defeat for a UK government in history.

The uncertainty therefore continues and we take a look at whether the increasing likelihood of a no-deal Brexit is having any current effects on the UK’s air freight and sea freight.

Leighton Bonnet – Uniserve Group Airfreight Director – commented “We are definitely witnessing an increase in volume as many importers look to mitigate potential delays at the end of March with higher stock holdings.”

“Feedback from our clients suggests that many are taking the decision to prepare for the worst and using air freight to call stock forward. However, this approach does not work for every industry – perishable retailers for example.”

“With Chinese New Year falling earlier this year, Asian factories are expected to start winding down towards the end of January and most won’t return until mid February. Therefore, coupled with additional Brexit demand, we expect volumes to increase into next week and are stressing to customers that they need to provide as much notice as possible if they require orders prior to the CNY break.”

“As usual with the airfreight industry, non contract rates are always reflective of the current demand.”

Steve Ireland – Uniserve Group Sea Freight Director – added “Our volumes are noticeably ‘up’ on the same period last year, which does partially reflect an element of pre Brexit planning, although we are not seeing evidence of major stock piling right now.”

“Volumes traditionally take a while to build after Chinese New Year, so there should be the capacity to meet any additional demand. There are some industry concerns that ports and container transport may struggle to cope with a spike in volumes after last year’s issues, although we are not expecting that to be a factor in the coming weeks.”

“Short-Sea container volumes between Europe and the UK are significantly increasing as an economical alternative to road freight services. This week, one short-sea shipping line has been reported to be introducing a pre-Brexit surcharge for all shipments involving the UK, due to the increased demand.”

Uniserve Group have published two separate documents over recent weeks that should prove useful to importers and exporters:

• A Brexit Solution – A document outlining the impact of Brexit and a Uniserve solution, which can be downloaded HERE.
• Preparing For A No Deal Brexit – A guide to trade, customs, vat, duty and other requirements, which can be downloaded HERE.

If you are concerned about how Brexit will affect your supply chain, or require further information on Uniserve’s Air, Sea or Road freight products, then please email info@ugroup.co.uk or call 01375 856060. 

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