The UK Freight Transport Association estimates the overall cost to the industry of the French blockade of Dover to be about £1M per day. The blockade has affected both passenger and freight movements, and has led the shipping companies to investigate the viability of using non-French European ports in case this should happen again. The ferry operators managed to clear their backlog of traffic by Thursday, but this kind of incident obviously drives freight traffic into the Channel tunnel. Eurotunnel increased shuttle services from four to five an hour, but there were still five hour delays, resulting in disruption to freight services. This was particularly difficult for forwarders who use a European hub system for their services, rather than direct ferry sailings to the country of destination.
Ferry operators are considering seeking compensation from the French authorities or the fishermen.