Retailers, shipping and haulage companies are complaining of “chaos” at Felixstowe Port in Suffolk, with imports for the Christmas period being delayed. A ship due to be unloaded last week was redirected to Rotterdam because of “unacceptable” delays.
Owners blame pre-Brexit stockpiling and Covid-19; a freight manager warned that “if the chaos continues, increased shipping prices will be passed on to consumers”. He said that containers were being left on the quayside because haulage companies were unable to book a collection slot.
“It’s delaying freight going into shops for consumers to buy,” he said. Part of the problem is a consignment of 11,000 containers of PPE ordered by the government which have not been collected.
