The UK Major Ports Group (UKMPG) has urged shippers and freight forwarders to consider alternatives to the congested Dover route post-transition.

With concerns over the ability of the UK’s main cross-Channel port to deal with queues of up to 7,000 lorries a day, the UKMPG has highlighted other options, Loadstar reports. 

East coast ports alone can handle 3.6 million ro-ro units a year and 1.2 million teu (twenty-foot equivalent unit) in shortsea container traffic, according to the UKMPG. This represents around 60% of the total volume of 2018 UK-continental European trade. 

Willing and able

“There are ports all around our coast able and willing to bolster the UK’s trading capacity,” said UKPMG chief executive Tim Morris.  

“Realising this additional resilience capacity will deliver crucial benefits to the UK in keeping trade flowing in the short and longer terms, as well as contributing important environmental improvements.” 

New investment

The report comes as the government is bolstering investment in ports, with a new £200 million ports infrastructure fund announced last week to help ports develop new order processing facilities.

The government has also revealed further details on its plans to develop freeports in the UK, which will offer a tariff free zone for imports and exports, and drive investment.