Lorry traffic between the United Kingdom and the European Union seems to have returned to the old level in February. That’s what BBC News writes based on initiates.
With the end of the Brexit transitional arrangement and the new EU-UK trade arrangements, the Eurotunnel and the ferries were much less used by trucks in January. According to Sunday newspaper The Observer, traffic between the island and the continent has decreased by two thirds in the last month.
In February, the problems with the new customs formalities seem to have been partly resolved: the number of lorries leaving the UK is 98% of that of February 2019. In fact, incoming traffic from the EU is one percentage point higher, at 99%. According to BBC News, 80 to 90% of truck drivers would have the customs papers in order by now.
Thus, although traffic is on the move again, the total value of the goods is still lower. About half of the trucks would have returned to their place of origin in February without cargo. Empty lorries are not a new phenomenon, but according to the British government, it would have been about a quarter of the trucks before the Brexit.