Following the conclusion of the Brexit transition period in December 2020, data from FourKites’ supply chain visibility platform shows a 73% increase in delays of over-the-road shipments to or from the UK, with 57% of shipments delayed. However, new data from the platform suggests that the frequency of delays is declining, as is the average time taken to get in or out of the UK.
The delays appeared to have plateaued throughout 2021, but began to dip at the beginning of 2022, with the number of shipments delayed dropping below the 50% mark for Q2 and Q3. The average number of shipments that faced delays entering or leaving the country in Q3 of 2022 sits at 41%.
Similarly, road transport speed in and out of the UK has risen from a low of 3.6 mph in early 2021, after the end of the transition period, to 5.3 mph in Q3 of 2022.
FourKites attributes the dip in delays to the success of companies’ strategies to adapt their supply chains.
Concerningly, though, delays in shipments crossing the Schengen Zone, the 26 European countries that have abolished all internal borders to allow free movement between them, have been rising throughout 2022.
While delays in shipments not crossing a Schengen Zone border followed the aforementioned trend of declining from the first half of 2022 onwards, those shipments that were crossing these borders saw increased delays during this time. In Q2, the difference in delays between shipments crossing and not crossing Schengen Zone borders was around 1%; that difference has now grown to 17%.
Shipments passing through the Schengen Zone are also travelling 1 mph slower, according to latest FourKites data from Q4 of 2022.
