UK ports fear losing business to Europe

British shippers are concerned that the country will lose shipping business to the Continent due to new regulations which, they claim, will raise the cost of using British ports. The Department for Transport (DfT) is proposing that infrastructure improvements such as better road or rail links related to port expansion be funded in part by the port operator. This places the UK at a disadvantage compared to the rest of the EU, where such infrastructure improvements are state funded, according to Peter Quantrill, director general of the British International Freight Association.