Lorrys travelling on the A1/M motorway near Leeds Yorkshire UK

The logistics sector defied the economic uncertainty surrounding Brexit with a fall in company failures in the third quarter of the year, according to a new report.

Creditsafe’s latest quarterly review of the logistics sector shows that company failures have fallen from a high of 534 in the first quarter of 2018 down to 109 in the second quarter and 105 in the third.

The largest company failure in the third quarter was the demise of Felixstowe-based warehousing and national distribution company BAP Transport, followed by Ascot-based Borderlinx and Watford-based Target Couriers in third place.

Total sales generated by the logistics sector in third quarter increased by 5% quarter-on-quarter to £77.2bn. Within the sector, 263 companies were created in the period meaning there were 5,528.

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Another positive sign for the sector was the fall in suppliers’ bad debt, which has dropped from a high of £19.6m in first quarter to £6.4m in third quarter. However, companies’ bad debt saw a slight rise in the third quarter to £1.38m, compared with £1.32m in second quarter.

Chris Robertson, UK CEO at Creditsafe, said the report shows “positive signs of stability” for the sector, adding that the similar number of failures in quarter two “shows a consistent improvement against the first quarter of the year, which experienced almost five times more company failures”.

“However, it’s difficult to predict how long this stability will last given the recent announcement from the National Audit Office, which indicates that thousands of UK exporters have not had enough time to prepare for new border rules,” Robertson warned.

“It still remains unclear what the border will look like after 29 March 2019, and uncertainty will only grow further if there is no deal. This lack of clarity will no doubt disrupt the logistics sector and businesses and individuals reliant on the border running smoothly are likely to pay the price.”

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