The Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) has warned the government that congestion at UK ports is affecting the availability of construction materials.<\/p>\n
BMF chief executive John Newcomb said: \u201cThere is a concern over the availability of products imported in containers, mainly from the Far East, such as ironmongery, plumbing items, tools and natural stone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Congestion at UK container ports became apparent last month, with coronavirus-related imports combined with COVID-secure measures leading to throughput difficulties at the terminals.<\/p>\n
Newcomb, who serves as co-chair of a Construction Leadership Council group examining the impact of Brexit on the supply of building materials and products, said: \u201cThere appears to be an increasing issue getting [containers of] products through ports, with some ships being stopped from landing and sent back to Rotterdam.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that, in some cases, unloading times have quadrupled from one week to four. \u201cWe\u2019ve raised this matter with government and asked about the readiness of ports and customs, as we head into Brexit.\u201d<\/p>\n
On 29 November, the Port of Felixstowe \u2013 the UK\u2019s busiest container port handling almost half of UK shipments \u2013 said that, like other major container ports worldwide, it was \u201cexperiencing a spike in container volumes and dealing with the consequences of the ongoing COVID pandemic\u201d.<\/p>\n
It added: \u201cThe current high volumes will last at least into December and possibly through into the new year, but we are working hard to minimise the impact on daily operations and to maintain vital supply chains.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among other challenges, the port said \u201cslow-moving\u201d shipments of personal protective equipment (PPE) were clogging up its yards. Various media reports in mid-November said as many as 11,000 containers of PPE were waiting to be collected at the port.<\/p>\n
The port said it aimed to recruit and train 104 extra drivers and additional engineers to increase throughput, and that it was working with the government\u2019s supply chain to clear the PPE backlog. \u201cVolumes have reduced significantly since the peak and should all be cleared within three weeks,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n