Eurotunnel’s freight traffic volumes remained almost static in the Q3 2015, despite a summer of troubles in the port of Calais and further reports of “desperate” migrant activity in past days.
The group’s results for the period 1 July to 30 September saw a 1% fall in truck traffic volumes on the same period for last year, from 353,469 to 349,849 crossings during the three months.
Eurotunnel spokesman John Keefe said that while the migrant activity and ferry strikes caused chaos in and around Calais during the summer, the trucks still had to get across the channel.
“90% of truck traffic between France and the UK goes through the short straight between Dover or the Channel Tunnel, and there isn't really anywhere else for it to go. If it moves down to the Western Channel, half a day's work for us is an absolute overpowering of work for them," he said.
“So in a growing market, with the need for the truck traffic to go across the most direct route, it keeps coming. Even though there are delays and deliveries might be late, the impact of which is seen elsewhere, the net result is still that the traffic has to go through the fastest, most reliable route,” he added.
Keefe said that despite the stable traffic volumes, migrants trying to gain access to trucks in and around the port of Calais remained a problem.
“This has been a constant backdrop for us since April. The two governments have invested very heavily in policing and security measures to better protect the crossing and works that have been going on - with extra fences, cameras, infrared detectors and so on - are reaching fruition.
“So as the net closes and it becomes harder for people to get across, they're changing their tactics and trying more desperate measures. They're coming in much bigger numbers to try and overwhelm the authorities that are there. It's that last desperate attempt to get through with winter coming, the weather conditions deteriorating and the security getting tighter,” Keefe said.
He added that extra cameras and fencing provided by the British government should be in place by the end of October, and that the French authorities had 1,200 officers working in the vicinity of the port – “It’s one of the largest concentrations of police in all of France”.
Eurotunnel’s truck revenue actually saw a 3% revenue increase in Q3 on last year, rising from €166.7m (£121.9m) to €172m (£125.8m).
Keefe said this was because of the nature of their customers’ operations: “We have a higher cost in our transport zone because of the speed and frequency of departures, so we tend to attract the higher value or time sensitive goods, and they're paying the premium to stay ahead of the rest of the market.
“So what's happened is that while those who've not got time sensitive goods have moved across to the ferries where they can get lower-cost crossings, we've attracted even more of the high-yield traffic and that leads to better results.”
