New Report Looks at How the Logistics Sector Has Dealt with the Covid-19 Pandemic So Far
UK Freight Transport Lobby Group Release Study
UK – If it has achieved nothing else the Covid-19 pandemic has at least focused attention on the logistics industry and its essential nature to such as politicians and the mainstream press. Now a new report from one of the industry lobby groups takes a look at how the pandemic has affected logistics businesses and the steps they have taken to overcome the panoply of challenges.
Logistics UK (formerly the Freight Transport Association) says the sector stepped up to deliver for the nation in 2020, despite facing a worsening shortage of HGV road haulage drivers, economic and financial hardships, and significant disruption to operations.
The UK Government has said businesses in Great Britain should still be sending parcels to Northern Ireland amid concerns over cancelled orders and delayed deliveries.
Customers of firms like John Lewis, Next and Dunelm have all been told their deliveries are delayed, while orders with TK Maxx are cancelled.
Under the NI Protocol, companies sending parcels here have to complete customs declarations.
While a three-month grace period is in force, it was not announced until shortly before the protocol began to apply at 11pm last Thursday.
But freight boss Seamus Leheny of Logistics UK dismissed a call by North Antrim DUP MP Ian Paisley that the protocol should be dropped.
Hauliers overwhelmed by red tape on NI deliveries
Updated / Thursday, 7 Jan 2021
17:02
The warning came as Debenhams announced it was suspending online sales to Ireland
Hauliers have warned they are being overwhelmed by red tape due to new checks on deliveries to Northern Ireland from Britain following Brexit.
The industry body Logistics UK said deliveries were being delayed as lorries arrived in Belfast with incomplete paperwork following the end of the transition period on 31 December.
The organisation s Northern Ireland policy manager Seamus Leheny said the problems were a direct result of Boris Johnson s Brexit divorce settlement with Brussels.
The warning came as Debenhams announced it was suspending online sales to Ireland due to uncertainty about the new rules which mean some products are now subject to tariffs.
By Harry Holmes2021-01-07T12:58:00+00:00
Some lorries have been detained for hours over paperwork
Food businesses encountered “significant problems” on the Irish Sea border this week as a raft of incomplete paperwork and a reportedly overwhelmed government-funded support service plagued the first week of the post-Brexit trading regime, MPs heard on Wednesday.
Northern Irish trade groups told MPs that many British companies had been unable to prepare for new customs requirements because of the last-minute trade deal.
Under the NI protocol, all food and drink entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain must now comply with EU customs rules including import declarations and customs forms.
A DUP MP has challenged a logistics chief to call for the removal of the Northern Ireland Protocol as an “impediment to trade”.
Ian Paisley made the call six days into the operation of the mechanism which means the region effectively remains in the single market for goods and operates under different regulatory and customs arrangements to the rest of the UK.
The initial days of the operation have seen some lorries detained for hours over paperwork.
However, Seamus Leheny of Logistics UK queried what was available to replace the protocol, and said its removal, via article 16, could cause more chaos.