THE LAST thing UK road freight operators need is the current challenges at Suffolk’s Port of Felixstowe, said RHA MD for policy and public affairs, Rod McKenzie, ‘Managing Britain’s biggest and busiest container port is a massive logistical challenge at the best of times, but since the implementation of nGen, Felixstowe’s own terminal management platform back in 2018, productivity has dropped considerably. Not because it’s a bad system but because it was given insufficient time to ‘bed in’.
‘The port’s behaviour is monopolistic with a focus on its own interests not its customers. Urgent change is needed. Some lorries are facing outrageously long delays accessing the port and to clear the backlog and get on top of the situation will take at least until the first quarter of 2021.
‘Shipping lines cannot offload containers and are having to re-route to other ports, including those based in mainland Europe. This just adds to further instability, to the cost for importers and of course for hauliers.
‘Of particular concern are 11,000 containers of PPE ordered by the government. They should be reaching the hospitals and healthcare workers that need it, not sitting on a Suffolk quayside because they can’t move,’ said Rod McKenzie.
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