Survey: Less than 20% of logistics companies prepared for Brexit

Over 50 percent of respondents said their business would be impacted by a vote for the United Kingdom to leave the EU, but just 18.4 percent had a plan in place in the event of a Brexit, according to a recent survey conducted by Logistics Manager.    Less than 20 percent of logistics companies had a plan in place for dealing with the United Kingdom’s referendum to leave the European Union prior to last week’s vote, according to a recent survey by industry news outlet Logistics Manager.
   Over half of the survey’s 320 respondents – 52.2 percent – said their business would be affected by the so-called “Brexit,” but just 18.4 percent said they were fully prepared in the event of a leave vote.
   The survey, conducted in the two weeks leading up to the vote, also asked logistics professionals about their primary concerns regarding the Brexit. Economic stability was the area of greatest anxiety, with 71 percent of respondents indicating it was a major concern, followed by currency value (56 percent) and the impact on trade agreements with the rest of Europe (52 percent). In addition, 17 percent of respondents indicated that the potential reduction in migrant workers was an issue.
   Following the vote, the UK-based Freight Transport Association warned that leaving the EU opens the industry to “new costs, restrictions and bureaucratic requirements being imposed on moving goods in and out of Europe.” FTA has called on the government to prioritize arrangements for international freight transport in its negotiations and minimize additional legislation, while keeping costs as low as possible for businesses in the UK.
   “Even though we are coming out of Europe politically, it remains our biggest export market and the supplier of a high proportion of our imports,” said FTA Chief Executive Officer David Wells. “We cannot allow new bureaucratic burdens to hamper the efficient movement of exports heading for customers and imported goods destined for British consumers.
   “The Government has two years to ensure the conditions currently imposed on other non-EU member states such as Albania and Serbia are not imposed on UK freight flows,” he added. “Norway and Switzerland have better arrangements but have accepted tough conditions including the free movement of people, so this will be a difficult negotiation.”
   Peter Ward, chief executive officer of the United Kingdom Warehousing Association, said that although the outcome of the vote was unexpected, he is hopeful the UK can build new trade deals with its European neighbors.
   “Indeed, our polls have consistently shown a clear preference among members to remain,” said Ward. “In my view, this momentous decision by the UK will have serious global implications, bringing new challenges for British businesses and particularly for those within our industry.
   “Many of our members trade across Europe and have enjoyed the benefits of ‘logistics sans frontiers’ for forty years, with goods entering and leaving our country freely; my hope now is that as new trade agreements are forged, there is no return to red tape and complex customs regulations that prove burdensome and costly for our members.
   “On the positive side, we have for some time been talking about the new opportunities for British business emerging with the big super-powers in different parts of the world; already we are focusing on the tremendous potential in China,” he added.
   Managing Director of logistics operator Europa Worldwide Group Andrew Baxter, on the other hand, described the vote as “a great day for Britain.”
   “Even though the world does not yet seem to realize, Britain has just taken a step that will ultimately make it economically safer and more secure,” he said. “The EU is on the wrong course. The Euro cannot work without a superstate, and a superstate will not work in practice. It’s time for the EU to rethink its direction.”
   Mike Danby, CEO of Advanced Supply Chain, noted that being part of the EU brought with it a collective power the UK needed to make international trade deals.
   “Britain will now be a smaller international player, up against the US, EU and China in international negotiations,” said Danby. “Even though we are a big economy, we’re not anywhere near close to the 500 million population of the EU.”