From UK Ports to Global Markets Navigating Change

What if UK ports could become leaders in sustainable innovation while grappling with post-Brexit challenges? Join me, Tony Hines, on the Chain Reaction Podcast as we explore the transformations underway at UK ports like London Gateway, which is pioneering the world's first all-electric berth. We'll also mark Grangemouth's 50th anniversary and analyze Tilbury's cutting-edge vehicle booking system. Amidst these advancements, discover how border checks are stifling operations at ports like Dover and Felixstowe, and how Storm Darragh has left Holyhead in disarray, reshaping freight routes to Ireland and shaking up the economy. Together, we'll unravel these complexities and consider what they mean for logistics, transport, and tourism in a post-Brexit landscape. 

Globally, supply chain dynamics are shifting as we navigate the impact of a 24-hour strike by Qantas's aviation ground workers, revealing cracks in the system down under. Australian farmers face a tomato surplus, while the nation eyes a bright future in hydrogen electrolyzer manufacturing amid economic slowdowns. Across the Pacific, the United States wrestles with Trump's tariffs, stirring up mixed reactions and potential trade turbulence. As shipping rates rise and the threat of an East Coast strike looms ominously over Trump's inauguration, we examine how these developments could ripple through consumer prices and job markets. Stay tuned for a special Christmas edition that will revisit the year's most unforgettable moments.

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Chapters

• 0:01 UK Ports and Supply Chain Challenges
• 13:46 Global Economic Impacts and Supply Chains

Transcript

Tony Hines: 0:01

Hello, tony Hines, here You're listening to the Chain Reaction Podcast, all about supply chain advantage. Great that you could drop by today. Thanks for coming by and a great episode coming your way in just a few moments. The weekly news round and we've got all things impacting global supply chains this week. So stick around, stay tuned and find out more Chain Reaction Now. We've got a special report coming up, tuning in to find out more Training Reaction Now.

Tony Hines: 0:25

We've got a special report coming up and it's on UK ports and what's happening around the UK at seaports this week. Well, here's that special report I promised you on what's happening around the ports in the United Kingdom this week, and then we'll crack on with what's been happening around the globe. London Gateway launched its new £350 million fourth berth. Dp World celebrated the operational launch of the world's first all-electric berth at the London Gateway port this week first all-electric berth at the London Gateway Port. This week the port of Grangemouth celebrated its golden anniversary 50 years since the first container vessel called at the port. Tilbury's London Container Terminal launches vehicle booking systems VBS. It's an app and this is the UK's first fully integrated VBS mobile app designed for hauliers and that's to smooth through the booking system to get trucks in and out of the port.

Tony Hines: 1:31

Uk ports are to receive £10.5 million from the UK government. This funding is to prepare for enhanced EU border checks, including scanning travellers' fingerprints and taking their photos. The port of Bristol had a successful event highlighting the port's advanced facilities and operational excellence, and the ports of Dover and Eurotunnel are to get more than 10.5 million. This funding aims to prevent delays due to new EU border checks. Well, a lot of money being spent on these EU border checks that haven't been implemented so far, and it's going to cost a lot of money being spent on these EU border checks that haven't been implemented so far, and it's going to cost a lot of money.

Tony Hines: 2:08

Now let's focus on three of the biggest container ports in the UK Dover, felixstowe and Holyhead. The port of Dover has been experiencing some delays due to high demand and new EU border checks. There's those border checks. Again, there have been reports of traffic congestion and longer waiting times for ferry passengers. Additionally, there have been recent climate change protests around the port Felixstowe. The port of Felixstowe has been in the news due to a significant drug bust where £140 million worth of cocaine was seized. Additionally, shipping giant Maersk has announced it will move its larger vessels to the London Gateway Port and that could impact Felix Doe's operations. It will certainly lose them lots of money.

Tony Hines: 2:59

Now, when it comes to Hollyhead, there's not been much mention about what's going on at Hollyhead and it's not been much in the news going on at Hollyhead and it's not been much in the news. It hasn't been highly reported, but there are major delays at Hollyhead port caused by the structural damage from Storm Darragh. The storm, which brought 94 mile per hour gusts, caused significant damage to the port infrastructure, leading to the closure of the ferry berths, and, as a result, all marine traffic has been suspended and sailings between Holyhead and Dublin have been cancelled. The port is expected to remain closed until at least December the 19th, causing concerns about potential delays in Christmas deliveries. Efforts are underway to manage the backlog and facilitate alternative routes for freight. It carries a lot of freight to and from Ireland Hollyhead, if you don't know and that's very important to both the United Kingdom and, of course, to Ireland, the island of Ireland, both north and south. It's definitely a challenging situation, especially during the busy holiday season, so keep looking out for the news on this very under-reported problem.

Tony Hines: 4:17

The new EU Entry-Exit system, ees, is causing significant disruptions. It requires non-EU nationals entering the EU to submit biometric information fingerprints, photos and passport details at the border, and this system is designed to enhance security, but it's led to longer processing times and potential delays. It's the impact on goods that is a problem for people working in logistics and transport. There's an increased cost. Businesses are facing higher costs due to the new checks. For example, physical checks on meat, dairy products, plants and seeds are now mandatory, leading to increased operational expenses. There are supply chain delays because of these additional checks, which affect the timely delivery of goods, and it's particularly problematic for perishable items and time-sensitive shipments. And we've just discussed the congestion of ports like Dover, where they're experiencing long queues which can disrupt the flow of goods and impact businesses relying on just-in-time delivery. So I'm guessing all these extra checks post-Brexit have caused enormous damage to business and trade and the signals are probably in impact on people.

Tony Hines: 5:32

Travellers are going to face longer queues, waiting times at borders and I'm guessing when the summer holidays come, there'll be lots of problems at UK airports, seaports and, of course, on continental seaports and airports where travellers from the UK will be arriving for their holidays. The extended waiting times at the port can lead to welfare concerns for passengers, especially during peak travel periods, but the economic impact is enormous. Tourism, local businesses in border areas are suffering due to the delays and potential deterrence of travellers. Lots of people just don't want to travel. If you can avoid it, avoid it, but, of course, if you're doing business, you can't really. If you're doing business with Europe, well, you have to import and you have to export. They're our biggest market and the UK is their biggest market in some cases. So lots of problems and chaos.

Tony Hines: 6:50

Now the UK growth figures have been reported this week and they're very disappointing. Even the Chancellor of the Exchequer said that. 0.1% minus, yeah, minus, not growth minus. So the promise of growth has not been delivered yet. The Chancellor's asking for six months. Well, we'll see. Don't hold your breath is the answer, because many businesses in the UK have been critical of the recent budget and they're blamed there for much of the fallen output that's happened in the past couple of months.

Tony Hines: 7:23

The increased cost of employing people because of the national insurance increase has had a significant effect and that will bite more probably in the first quarter of 2025. The interest rates will be higher for longer as a consequence and that's likely to put pressure on the government in terms of inflation. And yet the banks have already cut savers' rates to a dismal sum. So not much hope if you're a saver or if you're a payer of loans and bills. So that's where we're at.

Tony Hines: 7:58

But another retailer's come forward this week and that's Curry's. They're a technology retailer in the UK and they're saying that they're likely to be affected by the increase in costs of employing staff and, of course, all the other costs that are rising for businesses. So it's likely that the connection will not be lost when people begin to realize prices going up in the shops. There's already a reported 5% increase expected in food prices next year and food prices are still pretty high and they're much higher this Christmas than they were in previous Christmases. Despite the best efforts of retailers, their costs are going up. But there's a very real connection, isn't there? If you put the cost up by putting an employment tax in place and that forces the cost of the retail organisation and it forces the cost up on the supplier organisations those in the UK at least then of course that will just get passed on to consumers in higher prices. So inflation and higher prices will be driven up and that means everybody loses out. So far, from a so-called budget for growth, it's probably a budget for inflation and cost. We'll wait those six months and we'll come back again and have a look at what Well.

Tony Hines: 9:30

The Red Sea effect is still with us. It's still slowing down container shipping coming from the Far East and there are some concerns about how long this will go on for, and there's many ships still diverting around the Cape of Good Hope because of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. This means longer transit times and it means higher freight rates. Rail CEOs in the United States have said that any tariffs imposed by Donald Trump on Canada and Mexico are not expected to slow down US imports, but they're monitoring the situation closely. The US Postal Service has lowered its on-time delivery goals for the fiscal year 2025 to 80% For some of the offerings. It follows criticism from lawmakers.

Tony Hines: 10:16

Interestingly, in the United Kingdom, royal Mail paid a £10.5 million fine this week for not meeting its target for delivery of first and second class mail. The regulator for Royal Mail is Ofcom and they said that 74.7% of first class mail and 92.7% of second class mail was delivered on time in 23-24. The targets were set at 93% for first-class mail and 98.5% for second-class mail in the United Kingdom. It's the second time that Ofcom has fined Royal Mail since the pandemic and they've said it needs to do much better meeting these targets. They paid a £5 million fine last year and they've paid £10.5 million this year, so it looks like similar problems occurring in the United States Postal Service too. Walmart is adding more automated grocery distribution centres to its supply chain network and it hopes to improve efficiency and better service will be provided to its customers. Chewy's automated fulfilment centres have improved productivity during the peak order period, and that's helping the pet e-tailer to manage high demand.

Tony Hines: 11:29

These are just some of the stories hitting the headlines this week. Ontario is Canada's second largest province after Quebec, and this week Premier Doug Ford of Ontario threatened that if the United States imposes tariffs of 25% on Canadian imports when Trump comes into office, canada should do everything possible to retaliate. This is what he said. We will go to the extent of cutting off their energy, going down to Michigan, going down to New York State and over to Wisconsin. Well, fighting talk. Indeed, ontario is not a major producer of crude oil, and the threat from Ford appeared to specifically apply to electricity that goes to the United States from Canada. The proposed tariff from Donald Trump's administration would, of course, be very painful and it could cause recession in Canada, so they're likely to get a forceful response from Canada.

Tony Hines: 12:38

If this is representative, well, let's take a look at australia. What's happening there? Two critical mineral projects were given the green light. The australian government has approved two critical mineral projects aiming to boost the country's supply chain for essential minerals. Quantum diamonds will soon be made in aust, with the National Reconstruction Fund announcing $13 million to deliver a quantum leap in Australia's manufacturing capacity. The Ministry for Industry and Science, ed Husick, said that he welcomed the investment in quantum brilliance to build Australia's first quantum diamond foundry. These enable precise fabrication of quantum bits, or qubits, which power computers and sensors, and quantum technology is a very important technology for the future. It's projected to be worth about $6 billion Australian dollars and employ 19,400 Australians by 2045.

Tony Hines: 13:46

Qantas supply chain strike. Aviation ground workers in Qantas supply chain are planning a 24-hour strike for better job security and pay. The Albanese government has initiated a $60 billion decommissioning industry to support the resource sector. Australian farmers are facing a tomato glut with plummeting prices and concerns about who will support them. Overproduction is a problem in these types of supply chain where they are time limited, because you can't actually hold on to tomatoes. If you produce too many, can you, and if prices fall, you get nothing for your investment. Well, nowhere near what you expected. Australia has a 1.7 billion opportunity in hydrogen electrolyzer manufacturing.

Tony Hines: 14:34

There was also news in the Australian Tribune this week explaining that we can't supercharge Australia's economy without fixing major inefficiencies. It was a cry from Professor Chenapati Jagadish, and it's news that the Australian government has fired the starting gun on its review on how Australia can strengthen its research and development. There's opinion gathered over the past few years that Australia is not doing as well as it should be as a nation, falling behind, and they've gone from being about average amongst OECD countries in overall investment in R&D, moving towards the bottom, and that's a cause for concern. Australia's growth in GDP is slowing to a crawl. That's what the Tribune said.

Tony Hines: 15:33

Now it may surprise you to know that Trump's tariffs have also had a mixed response in the United States, even though ostensibly they're aimed to protect the economy. But this is the sort of response that's coming out of the United States. Many people think that the economic impact could damage inflation. They could increase prices for consumers on various goods, including electronics, vehicles and everyday items. There might be job losses too. Estimates have reached 142,000 jobs which could disappear as a result of the increased tariffs. The impact on GDP is it will slightly reduce it by 0.2 to 0.4. Remember, these are just estimates and this is what people are talking about, so the reality could be different.

Tony Hines: 16:19

The industry-specific effects, of course. Automotive industry is very concerned that the tariffs increase the cost of imported auto parts, leading to higher prices for vehicles, and that could lead to a downturn in the purchase of new vehicles and it could delay the adoption of EVs, which is needed if the auto industry is to survive into the future. It will also impact green technologies If tariffs are placed on Chinese imports. Solar panels and EVs are right in the firing line. Consumers will, of course, face higher costs, which will be passed on from suppliers if they're hit by the tariffs, and it will put pressure on prices, which will be passed on from suppliers if they're hit by the tariffs, and it will put pressure on prices, which will mean inflation. The tariffs have strained trade relations with key partners like China, canada and Mexico and no doubt there'll be more debates before those tariffs are introduced if they are and, of course, when they are, and many countries have threatened retaliatory action against the tariffs if they're and, of course, when they are, and many countries have threatened retaliatory action against the tariffs if they're impacted by it.

Tony Hines: 17:34

If we look at average shipping rates, 90-day percentage change for a 40-foot equivalent unit container has risen in North America by 19.7%, in East Africa by 17.5%, southeast Asia 6.1% and Northern Europe 4.6%, oceania 2.1%, japan and Korea 0.3%, and most of the rest is either flat. Europe and Mediterranean is zero, northeast Asia is zero and falling, so prices have fallen in Latin America, central Asia, south Africa and the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent, where they've fallen at the highest, about 8.6%. So that's quite interesting to look at that. There's also the possibility of a strike looming on the East Coast in January, and that's coming out of some concerns shown by Maersk this week where they're concerned about that strike taking place on the East Coast ports. Of course, that would coincide probably with Donald Trump's inauguration as president, so we'll have to see how that one plays out. It'll be quite interesting, won't it? Well, that's it for this week.

Tony Hines: 18:55

I hope you've enjoyed this news roundup and if you enjoy the Chain Reaction Podcast, subscribe and you'll be first to know when new episodes drop. We're only 10 days now away from the seasonal break for Christmas and we've got a couple more episodes coming your way, so do stop by and pick those up. But also have a look at the backtracks. Have a look over the year and see what you've missed. And when you realise what you've missed, well, you'll want to come back, won't you? We've got a special Christmas edition coming up, too, very seasonal, where I'll be taking a look at some of the episodes that have been, for me, some of the highlights of the year. So I'll see you then. In the meantime, take care, I'm Tony Hines. I'm signing off. I'll see you next time in the Chain Reaction Podcast. Bye for now, thank you.