FBJ 4 FREIGHT BUSINESS JOURNAL CONTACTS 2018 SALES


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By Chris Lewis


As the dark November weeks drag by, the blinding fl ash of light that would fi nally reveal to us exactly what Brexit will bring next March remains elusive. The more the arguments continue, the more it suggests to me that the Brexit cheerleaders have shot themselves in the foot. What should have been a period, aſt er the peoples’ verdict in June 2016 of calm preparation and planning was instead taken up by impassioned debate on whether we should have a Brexit red in tooth and claw or, as more cautious commentators suggested, a rather more watered-down version. (All matters which should maybe have been debated during the referendum campaign itself.) The government is, understandably, unwilling to risk the possible consequences of the country dramatically crashing out of the EU and its customs union in March next year. It has instead suggested quite a long transition period, to howls of protest from the Brexit hardliners, whose only real achievement so far has been to thoroughly frighten the majority of business people. And because there has been no agreement on the manner and type of Brexit, practical preparations have been non-existent; not a line of computer code written or a single computer server installed. No training of customs clerks or extra HMRC staff recruited. That in turn has severely limited the country’s ability to markedly change the way it does business with the EU in March 2019 and almost ensures that any Brexit in March 2019 could be a pretty damp squib.


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There are early signs that Brexit, and the continuing uncertainty of the actual outcome, is now having a palpable eff ect on the freight industry. Leading ro ro operator DFDS for one said in its recent third quarter results that uncertainty over Brexit had somewhat reduced its freight carryings; forwarder Davies Turner meanwhile reports a surge in demand for warehouse space from importers fearful of stock shortages as a result of customs delays. But what of the more hidden costs? The House of Commons Public Accounts committee said in a report published on 2 November that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) was being forced to reprioritise resources to Brexit customs and borders issues, which was hindering its ability to deal with the estimated £1.3 billion currently being lost to fraud and errors in the other parts of the tax system. The PAC is also worried by the delay to HMRC’s new Customs Declaration Service. This is to say nothing of the fact that our legislators’ time has been taken up almost entirely with Brexit, leaving little time, if any for other issues. And while cynics might argue that that is actually a very good thing, it’s hardly a sustainable long-term situation.


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Mind over matter: part 1: Maersk said it had been able to run nine tenths of its inland haulage operation on time, despite the recent IT-inspired turmoil at the UK’s major container ports. A fl exible network, careful planning and no doubt, the burning of much midnight oil by the line’s transport planners and drivers had delivered a reasonable service, considering the circumstances. Maersk Line’s success does come with a plea to its customers. It is urging them to rethink their transport operations, pointing out that 70% of its haulage operations currently take place in the morning and to consider aſt ernoon loadings away from the rush hours. Getting business to change long-ingrained habits can be an uphill task, though. Experience in urban distribution has shown just how many obstacles there are to practices such as in-night delivery and the like.


Mind over matter 2: It wasn’t so long ago that Heathrow Airport’s cargo operations were hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons, with queuing trucks, widespread chaos on the surrounding roads and forwarders waiting up to fi ve hours to get their hands on their cargo. Now, however, the CCS-UK User Group says its AIS (Advance Information System) has brought real results in reducing congestion at the UK’s busiest airfreight gateway since it was introduced two years ago. (Although the soſt ware organisation did have to go it alone in developing the system, aſt er the airport itself dropped out of the project.) CCS UK says that AIS, which has now been live for around a year, is bringing real results, even though only part of the system has been introduced so far. Dnata, Heathrow’s largest independent handler reports 75% reductions in vehicle dwell time, to quote just one example. It is amazing what effi cient systems and modern IT can achieve, even with an infrastructure


Issue 8 2018 - Freight Business Journal From the Editor


///NEWS


FBJ is the only UK and one of the few pan-European Multimodal newspapers. The comments we have received prove there is still room for a hard copy publication within the freighting industry. You don’t have to look at a screen all day!


FBJ boasts the most informative and authoritative source of information with unrivalled in-depth knowledge of the rapidly changing freight business environment.


As the defi nitive publication within the sea, air, road and rail freight sectors, each issue includes regular news and analysis, in-depth coverage discovering the business decisions behind the news stories, shipper and exporter reports, opinion, geographical features, political and environmental issues.


If you have any stories or letters which should be of interest or any feedback on FBJ, please contact our editor Chris Lewis - +44 (0)208 6450666 chris.lewis@f j-online.com


next issue >> Southampton and Apparel.


circulation >> Our next issue will include features on: Customs Clearance,


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that is manifestly old and unsatisfactory as Heathrow’s. However, systems can only achieve so much – they should not be used as an excuse for inaction in rebuilding a 1960s relic.


I can’t remember when I last booked an airline ticket over the phone – still less going into a bricks and mortar travel agent – but there is little sign, so far, that the freight industry is going down the same path. True, there is a handful of digital freight forwarders that claim to be able to do the same things that a normal forwarder does, online, remotely, and without the numerous interventions by phone and email that characterise the traditional business. That said, the digi-forwarders are making their presence felt, and no doubt the industry will start to change – although it is likely to be evolution, not revolution. Perhaps it may take a new generation of shippers, aghast at the prospect of doing anything without their smartphones, to achieve a fundamental shiſt . The fact that fi ve of the world’s biggest container lines have seen fi t to set up an association to create common information technology standards for the industry – which moreover will be made available free to other competitor lines – suggests that freight and shipping still have some way to go before achieving technological nirvana.


The launch of the UK Major Ports Group at the Houses of Parliament, when FBJ was fi nally admitted (see Freight Break), was an illuminating aff air. Ports have amazing wealth-creating powers, UKMPG chairman Charles Hammond told the gathering, with an estimated six jobs created outside the port gates for every job inside them. Puzzlingly, though, port cities themselves aren’t beacons of prosperity – it appears that most of the wealth they generate follows the freight swiſt ly up the motorways and rail lines to other places. Liverpool’s social and economic problems are well-documented; there aren’t too many new Jags and Mercs on the streets of Hull or Grimsby. Even Southampton is a blue-collar island in the midst of leafy Hampshire. You’d need a battery of economists and sociologists to explain the exact reasons why. Port work was not traditionally the best-paid and for generations much of it was casual. Things are better nowadays, but diff erences in income cast a long shadow, passed down from one generation to the next. If your parents didn’t own their own home, or had only a modest two-up, two-down, they wouldn’t have had a whole lot to pass on to you or your children.


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