Brexit scares and reality checks
Leaked government documents detailing Brexit preparations, code-named Operation Yellowhammer, suggests that extended delays to medicine supplies and shortages of fresh foods, together with price rises, are likely in the event of a no-deal Brexit on 31 October.
The documents predict a hard bord...
Read more Brexit ‘free’ ports planned
The government is planning to create up to 10 duty-free or low-tax ports and airports across the UK after Brexit.
Free ports are used by firms to import goods and then re-export them outside of normal tax and customs rules.
Labour criticised the move, claiming it involved no new investment ...
Read more Putting staff development on the front line
At Metro we believe that a deep understanding of how our partner organisation’s operate, makes us more effective. Which is why we launched The Partnership Development Programme, and pleased to see the press reacting positively to our initiative
Metro Shipping has completed the first phase of...
Read more FTA recognise Metro air solutions
The Freight Transport Association’s awards are unique - with full multimodal representation from road, rail, sea and air operators, manufacturers, retail, logistics and supporting industries - and Metro have shortlisted as Air Business of the Year’.
The Freight Transport Association’s aw...
Read more Brexit ferry gridlock
The BBC has reported that cross-channel ferry companies have warned of gridlock around British ports, as they confirm that after a no-deal Brexit, they will not allow trucks to board ferries, unless they have the right paperwork.
"We cannot take lorries across that cannot enter the country," o...
Read more Brexit trade agreements
The UK most recently signed a post-Brexit trade agreement with South Korea, bringing the total agreement rate to 63% of trade covered by EU deals.
The UK has signed continuity trade agreements with non-EU countries so that trade can continue with minimal disruption after the UK leaves the EU.
...
Read more Shipping line withdraw from China
Shippers from China have already seen the increased use of slow steaming, ship idling, blank sailings, and exhaust scrubbers to absorb additional capacity, and now it is announced by CMA-CGM that APL, will exit the Asia-Europe trade on 1st October.
In an effort to rationalise services and redu...
Read more Volatility masks reality
Asia-Europe volumes may have fluctuated in the 1st quarter of 2019, but it doesn’t hide the fact that growth has been slowing and with 460,000 TEU of ultra-large container vessels scheduled for delivery this year, capacity is going to massively outstrip demand in 2019.
Despite a surge at the...
Read more Is short-sea Brexit proof
Short-sea services can offer cost savings of up to 50%, for those willing to accept much longer transit times. But is transferring short-sea volumes to containers a way of avoiding any future Dover congestion, or is just making a bigger problem elsewhere.
There is a surplus of port capability,...
Read more It’s time to prepare for a no-deal Brexit
With just 11 days left until the Brexit deadline, the Prime Minster’s hopes of a third attempt to get her deal through parliament may have been dealt a fatal blow by the speaker, which means that forwarders, carriers and shippers need to prepare swiftly for the worst-case scenario and a no-deal...
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