The RHA is urging the government to resolve customs arrangement issues between GB and Northern Ireland that are continuing to create major financial burdens for many firms.
Its MD Richard Smith this week wrote to the Northern Ireland secretary of state, Hillary Benn and Carol Bristow, director general of borders and trade at HMRC, pointing out the complexities of the Windsor Framework and the significant impact on freight volumes.
Smith said current customs arrangements remained “far from ideal” and were one of the main reasons why volumes are down.
And with further changes due to commence after 31 March, Smith said many resilient firms who operate in Northern Ireland are desperately seeking answers.
“Specifically, many businesses still need clarity on the classification of goods deemed ‘at risk’ or indeed deemed ‘not at risk’,” he said.
“There have been various regulatory checks and different interpretations of those introduced to date.
“There’s an impact explicitly on groupage and non-retail and business to business.
“With the time sensitivity of some goods, more paperwork and uncertainty creates delays which has direct consequences for businesses and consumers alike.”
Smith added that without a co-ordinated approach by both the UK government and the EU, the combination of evolving customs regulations and further divergence would have further knock-on implications for businesses operating in Northern Ireland.
Figures released by the ONS this month showed just 13.1% of trading manufacturers based in Great Britain said they had sent goods to Northern Ireland over the past 12 months, whereas 81.9% said they had not.
According to Parcelhero, this contrasts with figures for January 2021 when 20.1% of manufacturers said they had sent goods to Northern Ireland in the previous year.
It said that since Brexit, new regulations had been introduced to try and avoid physical barriers between NI and the Republic of Ireland, but the changes had caused significant challenges for businesses.
“The knock-on effects of increased red tape and delays mean a whopping 28% of NI-based companies said transport costs have become a challenge and 13.3% of companies based in England also reported significant concerns about the cost of shipments to NI,” said David Jinks, Parcelhero head of consumer research.
“Ultimately, all this upheaval means that 25.9% of transport and storage sector companies have seen their volumes to NI decrease in December compared to the previous month.”
