FBJ 4 FREIGHT BUSINESS JOURNAL


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EDITORIAL


CHRIS LEWIS - EDITOR +44 (0)7778 106433


chris.lewis@f j-online.com MIKE BRYANT PHIL HASTINGS


CIRCULATION


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If Brexit does fi nally take place, one wonders what we will all fi nd to talk about. As someone astutely pointed out in a Guardian editorial, perhaps one of the reasons why large sections of the tabloid press are so pro-Brexit is that the turmoil and excitement of leaving the EU creates more stories, and hence sells more newspapers, than the status quo. Or are we just being too cynical?


You’ll be pleased to know that your editor is all set for Brexit, even if it’s a no deal. As a small VAT-registered trader, who at some time must have sold an article or two to an EU-based magazine, I am now the proud possessor of an EORI number. I’ve also had a deluge of leafl ets through the post telling me ‘How to imports goods from the EU’ and like everyone else I’ll have seen the TV ads and the billboards. However very little of this expensive government information campaign really addresses the practical issues of post-Brexit trade or answers business peoples’ many queries. Most people involved in freight and commerce say that the Republic of Ireland’s preparations have been much more focussed – particularly the short training courses aimed at ensuring that fi rms will be able to make as simple customs entry themselves, should it be needed aſt er 31 October.


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Under the latest proposals now being considered in Parliament, and which have been agreed by the Prime Minister and European Union, Northern Ireland will, while remaining technically part of the UK’s VAT area – meaning that HMRC will be responsible for applying VAT legislation and the UK keeping revenues - will continue to apply EU VAT rules for goods. VAT exemptions and reduced rates applied in Ireland may also be applied in Northern Ireland in order to avoid distorting the island market, it says. It might mean a form of customs clearance for goods being despatched from Northern Ireland to the UK, under some circumstances, and possibly scrutiny of Northern Ireland imports and exports by EU offi cials. But the question is not so much whether it could be made to work as to whether certain political factions in Ulster would allow it to work.


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I’ve said before that the Government’s plans to pay ferry companies to operate extra services in the event of post-Brexit disruption may not be the complete answer to the problems that the country faces aſt er Brexit. However, I could see it being helpful under certain circumstances – for example, if the ports of Dover or Calais were rammed with trucks trying to get across the Channel, having a few alternatives elsewhere could be helpful. But why stop at Brexit? There have been many other incidents in the past that have brought chaos to the Channel ports, such as blockading French fi shermen or striking ferry workers, and no doubt there will be plenty more in future. Why not have a similar scheme for future disruptions, putting extra capacity on routes away from the Channel coast? I’m not suggesting that the Government permanently pays out tens of millions of pounds to ferry companies, but perhaps has a contingency plan as to where additional capacity might be required, handling arrangements, information to drivers and so on.


Amid all the excitement over Brexit, spare a thought on what happens to the European Union next. Will it continue to expand – or even contract, if other countries follow the UK’s example? It’s a reasonable bet that Brussels won’t make it particularly easy for any further countries to secede, although I suppose that if the UK turns out to be a rip-roaring economic success aſt er Brexit, other nations might be tempted to follow us down the path – Dexit,


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


By Chris Lewis


One of the frustrations of being an editor is that, from time to time, you fi nd yourself in the position of a theatregoer having to tiptoe out of the auditorium ten minutes before the fi nal denouement to catch the last bus home. So it is with Brexit; as FBJ went to press, Boris Johnson appeared to be heading for a fi nal showdown with Parliament over whether, and what sort of Brexit would take place, on or aſt er 31 October. By the time this is in print, we will know the fi nal outcome – unless, as seemed quite likely at the time of going to press, there is yet another postponement, or possibly a general election.


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


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Our next issue will include features on: Training &


Recruitment, France & Channel Ports and Scandinavia. For further details contact: John Saunders - +44 (0) 151 427 6800 john.saunders@f j-online.com


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Issue 7 2019 - 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!


Frexit or Grexit? (Greece, not Germany; that would indicate total EU meltdown.) Perhaps a more likely scenario is that the EU could add future members. The only problem with this is that, unless there is a change of heart in Norway or Switzerland, most of the potential candidates occupy the diffi cult or too-diffi cult basket. Some of the Balkan countries that are not currently members of the Union would certainly like to join, if they could, but diplomats are wary of the possible repercussions of one nation joining the rich man’s club while the others are leſt behind. And there are political, ethnic and economic tensions in many of the potential candidates. Certainly, none of the possible candidates look to be anywhere near a position of being able to make the jump in the near future.


Breaking up is never easy, as the old song has it, but in freight forwarding, getting together can be even more fraught. These are anxious times for Panalpina employees as new owner DSV outlines what eff ect the merger of the two forwarding giants will mean for people at the former Basel headquarters of the Swiss-based giant. DSV has at least indicated that some positions will be retained, and maybe new ones created as it retains a strong logistical presence in the Swiss city. But make no mistake, the whole object of merging companies is to cut costs overall, and a very large proportion of those costs will be payroll. On the other hand, a possibly even larger proportion of any freight forwarder’s true worth are its people so the temptation to throw the baby out with the bathwater should be resisted.


The horrifi c conditions in which 39 migrants died in an insulated reefer trailer en route from Belgium to Purfl eet do not bear thinking about. We can only guess at what their motivation was to make such a perilous journey and at the mindset of the people-smugglers that allowed it to happen. The police and border authorities work very hard and deploy some sophisticated technology to prevent incidents from happening, but happen they do from time to time. The sheer volume and speed of international trade make it impossible to minutely check every truck that crosses the Channel or the North Sea. One can only hope that those behind this evil enterprise are brought to book and have to answer for their actions.


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