Several factors, including Brexit, could lower cross-Channel transport rates
THERE are fears that European cross-Channel road freight pricing and competitiveness could be negatively impacted by the UK's vote to exit the European Union.
Swings in Euro-Sterling exchange rates since Brexit have already affected competitiveness of services in and out of the UK, said Tim Phillips, president of Freightex, a British cross-channel forwarder.
Fuel prices, which had been gently rising in the last quarter, were also adding to haulier costs, particularly those filling up in the UK.
"Add to this the noise over the legality of French government proposals that foreign carriers operating in or through France must meet minimum wage levels, and there is plenty to consider," he noted in his quarterly pricing review.
While potentially making UK exports more competitive, the outcome from the Brexit vote "is almost certainly going to cause a rise in transport prices for GBP-paying customers. A 14 per cent drop in the exchange rate since this time last year will drive up prices, which are mostly Euro-based due to the high volume of continental carriers on UK routes."
THERE are fears that European cross-Channel road freight pricing and competitiveness could be negatively impacted by the UK's vote to exit the European Union.
Swings in Euro-Sterling exchange rates since Brexit have already affected competitiveness of services in and out of the UK, said Tim Phillips, president of Freightex, a British cross-channel forwarder.
Fuel prices, which had been gently rising in the last quarter, were also adding to haulier costs, particularly those filling up in the UK.
"Add to this the noise over the legality of French government proposals that foreign carriers operating in or through France must meet minimum wage levels, and there is plenty to consider," he noted in his quarterly pricing review.
While potentially making UK exports more competitive, the outcome from the Brexit vote "is almost certainly going to cause a rise in transport prices for GBP-paying customers. A 14 per cent drop in the exchange rate since this time last year will drive up prices, which are mostly Euro-based due to the high volume of continental carriers on UK routes."