'Concerning and frustrating': Shropshire businesses caught up in Covid freight ban
Businesses across the region have received a fresh blow after being caught up in the chaos at the French border.
France's decision to restrict travel – including trade – from the UK in response to the outbreak of a new coronavirus strain has led to supply issues and goods becoming stuck in queues at the border.
The Channel is a vital trade route, with about 10,000 lorries a day travelling between Dover and Calais in peak periods such as Christmas, largely bringing in the freshest produce.
It comes after a turbulent year for many businesses which have been hit by Covid restrictions and ongoing uncertainty surrounding Brexit.
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Anton Gunter, managing director at Global Freight Services in Telford, said closure of the French border was both "concerning and frustrating".
“We were obviously expecting delays of this nature to come in the new year with Brexit but the decision by France to close its borders now due to coronavirus and fears over this new strain is a double blow to the freight forwarding industry," he said.
“We have freight stuck in the queues at the UK border and pallets of goods waiting to ship to the UK from France which is far from ideal.
“We are obviously working closely with our customers and keeping them up to date on the changing situation.
Impact
“We’re hopeful that government intervention will provide a clearer picture on the way forward in the next 48 hours but there is of course a lot of concern that other countries will follow France’s lead and begin to close their borders too.”
Adam Cunningham, managing director of Muller Holdings, a high volume CNC machining specialist with a facility in Cleobury Mortimer, said: "We’re having a few issues with goods coming from China being dropped off in Rotterdam and now problems with customers receiving deliveries in France.
"It's difficult to know the full impact until we understand when it will be opened back up and what processes they'll put in place to control it, like rapid testing. Just another challenge for manufacturers to overcome in what has been an extremely difficult year."
Meanwhile, frustration continues to grow for businesses over the uncertainty surrounding Brexit.
Talks have been deadlocked on a handful of key issues, including fishing quotas. Should they fail, tariffs – taxes on goods being bought and sold between the UK and EU – could be introduced and prices of certain products may go up as a result.
Peter Phythian, managing director of KRL a multinational freight forwarder with operations in Telford. said: "This latest delay in securing a deal has put further pressure on shippers and transport companies alike. We now face into the new year with no clear picture of our future trading relationship with Europe. Unfortunately it seems that delays to supply chains on both sides is inevitable.
"Companies have exhausted significant time and money preparing for this and yet we are still no further on than we were 12 months ago. KRL have invested significantly in terms of IT infrastructure and staffing to be ready to support our clients through this change."
Elsewhere, there have been 21 flight cancellations at Birmingham Airport due to border changes across Europe in the wake of fears of the spread of the new coronavirus variant.
