Traffic across the UK’s major ports is becoming increasingly uneven as disruption to global shipping routes continues to reshape freight movements, according to an analysis of Department for Transport data by shipping container supplier Cleveland Containers.
The analysis comes after sustained disruption to international trade routes, including attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, which have prompted many shipping lines to divert vessels around the Cape of Good Hope. Periodic disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has also added pressure to global supply chains.
The latest Department for Transport figures show freight handled by major UK ports fell 3 per cent year on year, driven by a 7 per cent decline in outbound cargo, while import volumes remained broadly stable.
Andrew Thompson, chief executive of Cleveland Containers, said the figures suggested freight was being redistributed across the UK port network rather than simply rising or falling uniformly.
“When growth is concentrated in particular regions rather than spread evenly across the country, it tends to point to specific commercial or infrastructure factors rather than a single national trend,” he said. He added that increases in freight volumes and vessel arrivals at major ports such as Liverpool and Southampton indicated “a genuine shift in how shipping capacity is being used nationally”.
Thompson said businesses should prepare for continued disruption rather than assume global shipping routes would quickly return to normal. He said companies could improve resilience by diversifying suppliers, reassessing inventory levels and planning for longer transit times as volatility in international shipping markets persists.
