News

Slumping volumes in UK ports have led to predictions of further casualties among container specialists as the recession continues to hit operators hard. Wincanton, which last year spent £44.5m acquiring established container transport specialists Hanbury Davies and CEL, believes UK container volumes have slumped by around 20%  since the UK went into recession.

Elaine Miller, operations director of Wincanton's container logistics business, says: "It is our view that retail sales are showing that we have hit the bottom and it will be a gradual slow climb back towards growth and, eventually, in the years to come we will exceed current port capacity. Along the way, however, we would expect some casualties as the market adjusts to the current realities."

Andrew McNab, business development director at fellow container specialist Maritime Transport, based in Felixstowe, says: "Right up until Christmas, volumes were strong but this year volumes have really dropped quite a bit. It's really a case of people just not spending money on things like electrical goods coming from China."

The impact of the slump in imports is being felt in all corners of the UK's port infrastructure.

The container terminal within the Port  of Southampton is operated by DP World Southampton and is owned by  DP World and Associated British Ports. DP World revealed in January it will review major expansion projects, including the London Gateway development; it is cutting about 60 jobs in various areas of its workforce at Southampton in response to what it describes as the "severe decline in UK containerised trade volumes".

Brian Tattersall, managing director at Pentalver Transport, based in Southampton, says the number of containers coming through UK ports from overseas has dropped "massively" over the past few months and that the situation at the moment is "dire".

"It's a very optimistic person who thinks things are going to pick up at the end of this year," he says. "Volumes are down massively at Southampton."

Meanwhile container traffic at Mersey Docks has dropped by approximately7% yearonyear, with a slump of 25% in the first quarter of 2009 despite no actual reduction in shipping traffic.