As the clock ticks towards the UK leaving the EU on December 31, the Port of Rotterdam has implemented interesting initiatives to prepare freight interests for Brexit.
Officials from Europe’s biggest port have taken to handing out pamphlets in eight different languages, including Turkish and Polish.
The awareness campaign, mainly comprising leaflets handed out to truck drivers in a bid to “Get ready for Brexit”, especially how to get cargo through the new customs system, includes a typical left-field approach as only the Dutch can muster.
Taking the weight off worries that the UK’s departure from the European common market could break supply-chain flows across the English Channel, port officials have resorted to using “a Muppet-looking monster to spread the word about avoiding trade logistical chaos when Britain actually Brexits”, according to a Bloomberg report.
Animated assistance aside, the port still expects major hiccups in that up to 12% of the roughly 2500 trucks moving through the port are expected to fall short of regulations, according to current non-compliance data.
As such the port has created a buffer zone where trucks defaulting on proper documentation can wait without causing congestion.
In the run-up to Christmas and the Brexit split, the port has also seen unprecedented attempts to meet demand before customs regulations between the EU and the UK come into effect.
Richard van Kleef, from ferry operator DFDS, said volumes passing through the port were unlike anything they had ever seen.
The only conclusion that can be drawn for the spike in truck traffic is that distributors are stockpiling Brexit-free goods while they still can.