News & Insights

All parts of the UK have been impacted, including ‘essential’ freight, logistics and supply chain sectors, but the container haulage industry has been hit particularly hard, with many challenges still to be overcome. Six weeks ago Metro wrote about container haulage operations and how it h... Read more

The container shipping alliances help carriers lower operating costs and broaden service coverage through economies of scale. However, do the alliances restrict individual line’s ability to differentiate and innovate as services beyond the sea element is not always under a carrier’s control.&... Read more

Despite the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) holding ‘emergency’ talks with industry leaders 20 months ago, the UK still doesn’t have enough of the right pallets to continue exporting goods to the European Union after the 31st December.  EU regulations on thir... Read more

Metro has been providing internal and external training since inception, but never in such challenging circumstances. Traditional training in the current climate has simply not been possible and while the benefits that follow learning for the individual and the organisation make the effort of ... Read more

As a member of the European Union, UK goods move freely between and through other member states without any formalities. As of 23:00 GMT on the 31st December 2020 freedom of movement will no longer apply and formalities will be necessary at the interface between the UK and the EU and across inter... Read more

In light of the recent criticism and industry-wide complaints concerning delays and service levels, the Port of Felixstowe – the UK’s largest and busiest container port - introduced vehicle booking changes on Monday, to improve service and lessen the delays on its terminals. One of these c... Read more

As the legal battle lines are being drawn by the EU for their day in court, the divorce talks continue to run in parallel. Following the conclusion of last week's round of Brexit talks, Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held a call on 3rd October to disc... Read more

The EU has launched legal action against the UK after Boris Johnson failed to respond to Brussels’ demand that he should drop legislation that would overwrite the withdrawal agreement and break international law and any trade deal just keeps slipping away. Ursula Von Der Leyen, the European ... Read more

The anticipated equipment shortages in Asia are spreading as importers in the United States and Europe struggle to return empty containers to Asian manufacturing hubs, with India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh hit particularly hard. The container imbalance followed the spike in imports to the US an... Read more

After weeks of complaints from port users, shipping lines, hauliers and cargo owners, there is some hope that Felixstowe’s service levels may be improving, but similar challenges are now being experienced at other key container ports. After the recent well-documented service issues, delays,... Read more

The air freight market remains in a very different environment, to pre-pandemic conditions, with the vast majority of the world’s passenger aircraft fleet grounded and air cargo capacity a fraction of what it should be. During September we observed steady price increases by the remaining ope... Read more

Customs declarations will rocket from the current 50m a year to 250m after Brexit, overwhelming the country’s customs brokerage capacity and HMRC’s capability to manage physical processes, which is why we have developed digital Brexit solutions. The government’s Border Operating Model, r... Read more