Sea freight
Sea freight accounts for 95 per cent of UK imports and exports by tonnage. This means almost 600m tonnes a year - totalling goods worth £336 billion. Sea freight is also an important source of domestic freight movements - getting freight closer to its destination by environmentally friendly means.
In recent years FTA has led the debate in introducing competition to the liner shipping industry - currently they are allowed to act effectively as cartels. In a substantial success for the needs of UK business, from October 2008 the full force of EU competition law will apply to the liner shipping industry - forcing them to compete.
FTA believes this will open up a new era for sea freight. The debate now moves on to issues such as service levels, documentation and cost. FTA aims to lead the debate again in helping operators such as shipping lines and ports work with the users of sea freight to provide a more flexible and customer oriented service.
- Operator tools
