Demanding times ahead
With the post-Brexit border, if you’re transporting goods between Great Britain and the EU, there are new considerations, such as what documents you need, how to follow new rules to manage traffic heading to ports and most importantly, new border control processes and you can see the guidance for hauliers and commercial drivers provided by the government on the GOV.UK site.
The UK haulage industry is now in a new year and with it comes new requirements with somewhat unchartered tests as part of the introduction of a post-Brexit border. Perhaps, some of these may be seen as ‘not for the better’ but they are now legal requirements. As to how these challenges could impact businesses, only time will tell. It could be the beginning of a very long and significant downhill fall for some or even many UK hauliers.
As some companies saw a rise in workload due to the pandemic, many others have seen a dramatic loss. With the new post-Brexit border in place comes increased paperwork and for some, sheer confusion about what is required to pass through, with what was considered ease and certainly, less of a burden.
Paperwork and panic for UK hauliers at the post-Brexit border
Michael Gove warned of “significant disruption” to come on Britain’s borders and the early indication is that the increased paperwork load for UK hauliers has seen a dramatic impact. It has set some panic alarms for some as they try to gather the correct paperwork to pass the border with as much ease as possible. This has also lead to concern after the negative impact it has already taken.
66% of UK hauliers have stated they are concerned about the increased paperwork required before they have even reached the border. Many face more challenges once they arrive as they experience delays and various issues surrounding their paperwork.
David Zaccheo, General Manager at haulage firm Alcaline, told Channel 4 his lorries should be “out on the road earning money” and continued with; “At the moment they are all parked up here obviously because we have so many issues with the paperwork to get out of the country at the moment”.
Mr Zaccheo also stated, “It is only a matter of time until big manufacturers are going to have to stop production altogether.”
Some British businesses have blamed the EU and especially France over the new challenges and panics they have been forced upon. You can read more on the story in this article.
Approach with caution: facts and figures
Approaching with caution is how UK haulage businesses may be feeling before they reach the border with hands full of paperwork and a mystery of not knowing if it will get them across the red tape.
Figures shown from research carried out by Haulage Exchange reveals the insights to 32 UK based companies and how Brexit has affected them.
This report shows that the border is perceived to be damaging the UK haulage companies, with 94% of the companies declaring they have seen negative impacts, 21% have lost business, 15% have made redundancies and 6% no longer working with EU-based companies.
The 32 UK haulage companies were also asked what effects of Brexit have had the most impact. They responded with 66% seeing an increased admin time due to all the new paperwork requirements, 50% higher tariffs imposed on goods, 44% have seen less access to European goods, 41% were changing licensing requirements and 25% have less access to an EU workforce. You can view more of these facts and figures on the couriernews.co.uk site.
DPD UK pause European road service
DPD UK has stated it is pausing its European road service. This is due to the new border procedures and the extra paperwork that comes with it; the new procedures are putting extra pressure on the company and increasing the turnaround time. DPD UK continued to inform that they were sending one-fifth of parcels back to the senders because of their incorrect or incomplete attached data. They also blamed the delays, increased waiting time and additional requirements for this decision. You can view this story through the Guardian online. The article also discusses where other companies stand with the current border changes.
Change management for the post-Brexit border challenges
UK haulage companies have many challenges to face due to the new border requirements. Mostly see a negative impact, with 94% of UK companies seeing repercussions. Where do the UK haulage companies go from here? No doubt each business will have an approach to prepare, support and help make adjustments to change.