James Hookham of the Freight Transport Association (FTA) lashed into the Government this month lambasting the lack of clarity of the situation for transport after Brexit, now just months away.

Hookham says: “Of the eight demands made in FTA’s list of essentials to ‘Keep Britain Trading’ issued at the beginning of the year, not a single one has been progressed. Details of whether or not the country will have a transition/implementation period are still unclear, there is still no decision on what customs arrangements we will have from March 2019 onwards.

“We keep getting told that all food and agricultural exports to the continent and Ireland will be checked at EU ports—but there is nowhere to check them, and the system to check them does not exist. We still don’t know if we will be able to employ the 43,000 truck drivers in the UK that are nationals from another member state—that’s 13 percent of our driver workforce. There is no clarification on whether UK drivers’ qualifications are to be recognised, so they could well be barred from driving their own vehicles on the continent.

“But the real show stopper is that, under European law, unless an agreement is reached, there will only be 103 international haulage permits to cover the 300,000 journeys made by British trucks to Europe each year. The logistics industry is being asked to decide who would get a permit to drive if there are not enough to go around—in effect, being asked to destroy the businesses of its international haulage members.”

Many in the printing and signage industries feel the frustrations expressed by the FTA as after two years it appears no progress has been made in the negotiations, which many believe are hamstrung by the Government’s reliance on the DUP to stay in power. Two years ago, the main concerns for the industry are the same as they are today, with no clarity other than bland statements that progress is being made. Namely trade, border controls, driver shortage, legal implications, and increased costs.

In terms of trade, 44 percent of the UK’s exports are with the EU according to Government figures, which leads us to border controls”

In terms of trade, 44 percent of the UK’s exports are with the EU according to Government figures, which leads us to border controls. Frictionless borders seem to be a fantasy so far as the Irish border is not disappearing, if there is no free trade agreement, and it does not help when Boris Johnson likens the border to the congestion zone and there is little cross border trade.

With restrictions on immigration there is a danger of there being a driver shortage as many drivers are from the EU. Speaking of drivers, changes in employment law may also affect the terms and conditions of drivers if the UK goes for its own bespoke laws which have been highlighted by the Labour Party. Finally, most business people and indeed Conservative MPs believe that there will be an increase in costs especially with border controls, which will lead to delays.

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