It has been quieter around the Channel Tunnel for a while now, and the problems at Calais seem to be decreasing. In the summer period fences were placed around the platforms at the Eurotunnel and Chris Hans van der Hout of transport company Freight-Line Europe notices that other safety measures are bearing fruit: "There is a fence being placed along a 6 km route to protect the drivers and freight and men with dogs are patrolling."
Too late
The problems surrounding the Channel Tunnel are now high on the (European) political agenda and both France and Great Britain have taken action. According to Chris Hans, this is far too late. "The authorities should have stepped in earlier. Now there are only losers in the branch. The exporters haven't been able to sell as much and a transporter we haven't got enough capacity to carry out all loads. The logistics are too dependent on the available capacity on the well known ferry routes."
Ferries
The ferry services have assisted us as much as possible to fill in places, which we are certainly grateful for. They also had the necessary problems because the ferries were too full which led to cars leaving the ports later. Unfortunately, this caused delays in the deliveries to our customers. All in all it has a huge impact for the whole chain and all parties concerned." Chris Hans wants to emphasise that politicians should have responded to the problems sooner. "Anyone who occasionally follows the news could see the situation would get out of hand. And it did."
The relatively quick flow through isn't a reason for celebration for Freight-Line. "The boats leave when they are full and even if you make the crossing according to the schedule, it makes a lot of difference whether you have 100 or 300 as far as time is concerned. The lack of capacity also causes problems on the British side. Because the trucks and trailers are stationery a lot of kilometres are lost, which costs money."
Controls
Because the problem with refugees is changing, the safety measures for the transporter himself aren't past tense: "Following procedures and making controls is an extra task that costs man hours." All in all the problem isn't going away any time soon. "Some transporters can't afford the transport to the United Kingdom any more and companies have already folded." Chris Hans can see the problem in the entire chain: "There is less capacity for export. It costs the entire sector a lot of money and it will stay that way for a while. The end isn't yet in sight. The transport is moving, but it remains unsure."
Controls
Because the problem with refugees is changing, the safety measures for the transporter himself aren't past tense: "Following procedures and making controls is an extra task that costs man hours." All in all the problem isn't going away any time soon. "Some transporters can't afford the transport to the United Kingdom any more and companies have already folded." Chris Hans can see the problem in the entire chain: "There is less capacity for export. It costs the entire sector a lot of money and it will stay that way for a while. The end isn't yet in sight. The transport is moving, but it remains unsure."
Van Geest International isn't using the Channel Tunnel at Calais at the moment. "Last time our drivers were in traffic for six hours, so now we only transport through Hoek van Holland. There is occasionally some delays due to the weather conditions and due to the boat's schedule the people in the warehouse have to work a bit harder, as we really have to get everything away before 12.30," says René van Geest.
Waiting times
The trader transports a mix of fruit and vegetable products and therefore finds it difficult to say what product suffered most under the crisis. René also cannot confirm the rumours of empty shelves in English retail: "At most there were probably some changes in switching but I don't know anything about real shortages." René doesn't know if Van Geest will return to Calais in the short term. "Transport via StenaLine at Hoek van Holland is going fine. The only downside is that drivers sometimes have to wait a long time before they can connect their trailer. The boat goes twice a day at set times, then they have to wait for disembarking. But waiting in the port is a lot safer than traffic jams in Calais."
René can't say much about potential damage: "We aren't a transport company and the transport is a service part for our customer. We are driving less kilometres and compared to transport via the Channel Tunnel the costs of the crossing via Hoek van Holland is slightly higher. All in all it's a bit more expensive but we can ensure that we can supply the load on time. And that's valuable. The extra costs via the tunnel relate to delays and safety measures such as extra locks on the trucks. This isn't a problem when transporting by boat."
According Colin Galbraith of Moorhouse Mohan the situation at Calais changes day by day: "On Wednesday night all trucks there had to stop due to a problem at Calais, but the situation is usually under control. There are no structural 'stack' operations." The Scotsman estimates that the problems have made the trade 10 to 15% more expensive. "The extra costs of the calamities have been calculated both beforehand and afterwards."
According Colin Galbraith of Moorhouse Mohan the situation at Calais changes day by day: "On Wednesday night all trucks there had to stop due to a problem at Calais, but the situation is usually under control. There are no structural 'stack' operations." The Scotsman estimates that the problems have made the trade 10 to 15% more expensive. "The extra costs of the calamities have been calculated both beforehand and afterwards."
Fences at Calais
Nigel Jenney of the Fresh Produce Consortium UK believes the situation at Calais is stable. "We can't celebrate yet however, as the strikes and delays at the tunnel may be over, but the number of refugees is increasing." He believes the problem is moving: "Refugees are now focussing on other ports and the locations along the route such as petrol stations." FPC created guidelines in collaboration with the British government for transport companies, but like Chris Hans van der Hout, he believes intervention should have and could have come sooner. "The situation has cost the British fruit and vegetable sector 15 million British pounds (20.4 million Euro) in recent months."
The good news is that the transport companies can now be insured, but according to Nigel transporters can also do more themselves: "30% of the trucks don't have a proper closing system and I recommend securing the trucks so that refugees, even when stopped, can't get in. With winter on its way the import of fruits and vegetables will increase again. Before then, solutions have to be found."