IRELAND\\\


Dachser: A new force in Irish freight


The transformation of Johnston Logistics into Dachser Ireland was completed on 1st September and there is now a new force in Irish freight. The bright yellow livery of the company’s trucks are now a common sight on the motorways and trunk roads as the new entity goes into competition with the half dozen or so other major operators in the market. There is a huge emphasis


on service quality, explains Dachser Ireland sales manager, Niall Hickey. The teams at the company’s base just outside Dublin are benchmarked against those in Germany and elsewhere in Europe; the performance of every vehicle and employee is measured through hand- held data capture devices and sophisticated IT systems. Dachser is very much a


groupage network, and its Irish arm sends trailers to the UK and all over Europe. It also handles full loads all over Europe. The Dachser Group also has a


very active air and sea forwarding division but for the moment this is not operating in Ireland – although it could well set up services in the near future, says Hickey. Currently, Dachser’s


warehousing capacity is 98% full – and it has also taken on a second unit 3km from its main Dublin base. The surge may well be as a result of Brexit, although the local


market is pretty buoyant anyway, says Hickey. He has also noticed a reduction


in groupage traffic from the UK but a corresponding increase from Belgium and the Netherlands, a sure sign that businesses are moving stockholding out of the UK ahead of Brexit. There has also been something of a shiſt from trailers to containers, all of which tends to increase the amount of inventory that firms need to hold.


sending regular communications to its customers, checking that they have the correct tariff codes and that invoices and other documentation is up to scratch. Now that the legal entity in Ireland is Dachser Ireland, it has also been able to create an electronic request for power of attorney (essential if it is to act on its customers’ behalf in customs affairs). While some operators have increased their use of direct


and there is the risk of queues in ports such as Calais, although he hopes that there might be a ‘green lane’ for trucks travelling on T2s. Operations whereby part of a trailer from Ireland is offloaded in the UK and the rest in Germany could become a bit more complex, and there could be a move away from groupage and into full trailer loads.


“However, the biggest


challenge will be Northern Ireland, where the need to do declarations will be a huge shock,” he adds. Dachser Ireland is planning


for a hard Brexit, as it cannot wait to see if there are problems on 1 November. It will, inevitably, mean getting information from customers such as tariff codes, calculating the duty and understanding and agreeing Incoterms, as well as creating the accurate and comprehensive invoices


that the customs


authorities will want to see. There are some practical


Customs clearance for freight


moving to or from the UK would open up a whole new world for Dachser’s customers. While the operator does have experience in this area, in its services to and from Switzerland and Norway, a hard Brexit would catapult the number of clearances on the UK trade from zero to 400 a day. To cope, Dachser Ireland is in the process of creating an 11-strong customs team whose head was at the time of writing undergoing training in Switzerland. Dachser Ireland has also been


Hamilton Shipping prospers despite uncertain climate


Belfast-based forwarder Hamilton Shipping has recruited extra staff but it is not about to take on dozens of extra people to cope with an expected upsurge in customs activity – in case it never happens. Operations director Gareth


Jess explains: “We have taken on a couple of extra people, but we can’t go mad.” In Dublin, Hamilton has taken


on an apprentice under the Government’s scheme and so far things are working out really well, says Jess. Recruiting – and retaining – staff in Dublin can be difficult and he hopes that the apprenticeship scheme will help in this respect. Like other forwarders that a


offer customs clearance service, Hamilton has had plenty


of enquiries from potential customers but first it must make sure that it has covered the needs of its existing clients. “We will talk to anyone, but our current customer base has to be the priority,” says business development manager, Phillip Burns. Hamilton Shipping has an office


in Dublin as well as Belfast, and Jess has noticed that preparations for Brexit appear to have been better handled in the south than in the UK. There is still a lack of clarity from UK Customs about future plans, and in particular anything to do with the Ireland/Northern Ireland border. Currently, a fair amount of import


Hamilton’s traffic for


Northern Ireland is routed via Dublin and the land border but in


ferries between Ireland and the Continental, or even container services, this isn’t really an option for Dachser’s fast and frequent groupage services, Hickey explains. “The UK landbridge will remain the number one route for us,” he says. Routing via Rotterdam could take a minimum of five days compared with


just 36 hours


currently via the UK landbridge. It will mean obtaining T2 transit


documentation – not in itself a hugely complicated process, although customers will have to provide some information -


the early post-Brexit period it will probably route that traffic direct into Northern Ireland, at least until the situation becomes clearer, says Jess. Despite all the uncertainty,


business is pretty good, Burns continues. “Lately, there has been a rush of exports. It may be people wanting to beat the Brexit deadline. There was a similar rush in imports ahead of the last deadline, in March, but that hasn’t happened this time; it could be because warehouses are pretty much full.” He confirms that warehousing


is currently hard to find, not only in Northern Ireland but in the South too, as far afield as places like Limerick. However, some of the export


boom may be down to the underlying strength of Northern Ireland’s export manufacturing base. Although Wrightbus’


solutions; Irish Customs has a clever app that allows the trucker to input their registration number and find out if they have a green, amber or red routing. “We’re also AEO Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) accredited and we have a bonded warehouse, so we can take trailers in here to await customs clearance, even if the goods are not free to move.” In time, and if necessary,


Dachser Ireland will build up a customs brokerage to handle clearances for both its own customers and, eventually, third parties. Customs clearances could in fact be a sales opportunity and could create valuable new business for the company.


problems have received widespread media coverage but there is still plenty of other traffic to go for such as mining machinery.


Issue 7 2019 - FBJ


3


Waterford reaches out to Rotterdam


BG Freight Line and its partner Maersk launched a new weekly Waterford-Rotterdam feeder service in June. It aimed to tap into growing demand from Irish agri-food exporters and also to customers shipping containers to/ from Africa, Asia and the Americas via the Dutch hub. Maersk country manager for


Ireland and Scotland, Simon Smith, predicted that the new service would allow the line to grow deeper roots in southeast Ireland: “To be able to offer tailored solutions to our customers’ needs is at the heart of what we do. We look forward to working with our existing and new customers on ensuring this service is sustainable and successful for all importers


and exporters in the southeast.’’ Port of Waterford chief


executive, Frank Ronan, said: “Reflecting Ireland’s economic growth, the port continues to perform well and this additional service will allow us provide new capacity to the many businesses in the southeast who trade goods globally.” BG Freight Line chief executive


Koert Luitwieler, explained: “BG Freight Line is always looking for new growth opportunities and adding Waterford will strengthen our excellent Irish Sea network even further. The call in Waterford will boost the shipping options for local businesses enabling them to reach Rotterdam within days and connect to the rest of the world.”


Welcome return for Stena Europe


The Stena Europe has resumed sailings on the Rosslare - Fishguard route following an extensive refit. The ferry operator said the upgrade programme took longer than had been anticipated but the vessel will be a significant improvement. Trade director, Irish Sea (south) Ian Davies said:


“I know there


has been a certain amount of frustration with the delayed return of the Stena Europe, a very popular vessel with both our freight and travel customers. We had planned for a number of improvements and additions throughout the ship both of a technical and customer- facing nature, but we did encounter a number of challenges which impacted on our works


delivery schedule for which I’d like to apologies to our customers.” He added: “During the refit period our cover vessel the Stena Nordica did a sterling job ensuring we maintained our sailing schedule on Fishguard–Rosslare and I would like thank the captain and crew for their efforts. We are now all looking forward to welcoming the Stena Europe back and I know a lot of our regular customers are looking forward to seeing the improvements.” He added: “Apart from a number


of technical upgrades our freight customers


will be particularly


pleased to hear that we have altered our deck height to be able to accommodate the increasing trend for high sided trailers.”


Happy birthday for Europa in Belfast


Europa Road’s Belfast branch has celebrated a successful first year in business during September. It provides 30 daily freight departures between Northern Ireland and continental Europe via Europa’s 1Hub facility in Dartford in partnership with local operator Liam Connolly. Shipments are collected and shipped on the same day, arriving into Dartford the next working day for onward connection to Europe. Europa Worldwide Group


sales and branch network director, Dionne Redpath said: “Belfast really has exceeded all expectations. We have a


sensational team here, who are really knowledgeable about the local market, and we’re a pretty slick trunking structure.” Redpath says that Europa’s


daily departures are something new in the Northern market, which is typically served by Tuesday and Friday-only departures, she says. Coming to or from Northern Ireland adds around a day to transit times compared with mainland UK she says. This schedule allows for robust connections in Dartford and possible delays on the ferries between Northern Ireland and the mainland. She adds that she would “never


say never” to direct services between Northern Ireland and Continental Europe if a large customer demanded it, but operating via Dartford gives local shippers unprecedented access to Europa’s 35 departures a day. Meanwhile, despite some gloomy headlines about


local


industry including the demise of bus-builder Wright, Northern Ireland manufacturing seems pretty buoyant, at the moment. Europa has taken on two additional


staff members in


Belfast – one a school leaver under its Rapid Career Development programme and an additional account manager.


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