THE UK Short Sea Freight RORO and LOLO Capacity Report 2008, by Peter Baker (PRB Associates Limited)

Freight capacity provided on UK Short Sea freight RoRo, LoLo and Channel Tunnel services has grown by over 3 million units (24%) since 2000.

The balance between short sea LoLo capacity and RoRo capacity is roughly the same now as it was in 2000. RoRo capacity has grown by 30% since 2000 to just over 12.0 million trailer units, while LoLo capacity provision in the UK short sea sector now stands at 1.6m forty foot equivalent units. RoRo capacity remains about 7.5 times greater than equivalent LoLo capacity in the market.

The 2008 UK Short Sea RoRo and LoLo Capacity Report confirms that it is the ferry services across the English Channel that have been leading the way in employing additional capacity to meet growing demand. Or, put another way, it is the relative advantage these services have in being able to adjust capacity that is attracting growth in demand, in spite of the various initiatives to divert vehicles from road miles to sea miles using the longer sea crossings between the UK and mainland Europe.

Further analysis of UK market capacity development highlights the increasing ‘polarisation’ of capacity provision towards Short Sea crossings across the Dover Straits, on the one hand, and onto a developing array of ferry and container services linking the Continent, Scandinavia and the Baltic with ports on the UK north east coast from the Humber northwards. This has signaled a relative decline in short sea capacity served by ports in the mid-range between Boston and Harwich.

Further insight into the detailed and comprehensive information contained in the full 149-page UK Short Sea Freight RoRo and LoLo Capacity Report 2008, Ninth annual edition can be obtained from IRN Research, priced £500.

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