Humber ports traffic surpasses pre-pandemic levels - ABP

Associated British Ports says they are seeing "really strong volumes of goods" moving through its terminals

Trade through the Humber ports has surpassed pre-pandemic levels, in part due to hauliers seeking to avoid delays like those seen in Dover, bosses say.

Dafydd Williams, of Associated British Ports (ABP), said they were seeing "really strong volumes of goods" being moved through its terminals.

Speaking to BBC Radio Humberside, Mr Williams said the growth was "possibly" due to issues at other ports.

But he said recent investment had also made the ports more attractive.

The Port of Dover saw long delays in the summer, due to post-Brexit border checks and amid claims of inadequate staffing from French border police.

"We are seeing some really strong volumes of goods coming through the Humber ports," Mr Williams said.

"We think it is possibly in part down to some challenges that other ports, like Dover, have faced where they saw delays. That may have fuelled some people's decision to use the Humber ports.

"But we think it is also because here in the Humber we offer a really good service."

Mr Williams said ABP had invested £50m at its ports in Immingham and Hull, buying new cranes, increasing capacity and improving access to move lorries through the terminal quicker.

He added that the rise in traffic had so far not caused any disruption to the surrounding road network.

Asked if that might change with the planned imposition of additional checks of EU goods, he said two new border control posts had been built - one at Hull and one at Immingham - which should help avoid "any significant delays or disruption".

The four ports in the Humber region - Hull, Goole, Grimsby and Immingham - take around 17% of the UK's trade, mostly destined for the North and Midlands, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

About 10% of the nation's energy supplies also come through the ports, as well as a quarter of all refined oil imported into the UK.