As the UK’s largest ports operator, Associated British Ports (ABP) handles more than its fair share of timber.

In 2016 ABP and its customers saw an increase of around 10% in timber handled across its ports to 1.2 million tonnes. Our ports are on course to handle that tonnage again for the full year of 2017, with around two-thirds of ABP’s timber trade passing through the Humber ports of Hull, Goole, Immingham and Grimsby.

Throughout 2017, ABP on the Humber saw that the general state of trade across the country was healthy and the company plans to consolidate the successes from the 12 months into 2018’s plans for further growth.

For example, in October ABP acquired a 50-acre site within close proximity to Immingham, the UK’s largest port, to further support and develop growth in the region, to give businesses a regional base, while nurturing local talent by providing job opportunities.

In 2018, ABP will continue to make substantial investments in its infrastructure, equipment and employees in order to improve efficiency and to meet customer needs.

ABP’s ports in the Humber contribute ?2.2bn to the UK economy each year, including ?1.5bn to the region. The continuous investment in the Humber will increase the contribution to the economy by ?1.13bn each year.

Brexit Impact on Ports

With 95% of all UK’s trade being seaborne, the importance of a stable British economy during Brexit is imperative.

ABP is working closely with the government to plan for a range of possible outcomes following the conclusion of the Brexit negotiations in March 2019, including ‘no deal’ and a reversion to UK-EU trade conducted on a WTO basis.

We have had an extensive number of meetings with senior government ministers and officials, including at Cabinet level. We welcome the government’s commitment to enabling frictionless trade and are grateful for the hard work of the many civil servants who are dedicated to achieving that objective.

There has been considerable anxiety about disruption to trade through the Port of Dover if additional customs checks are introduced as a consequence of leaving the Customs Union.

However, several ports on the east coast are capable of offering customers robust and efficient alternatives for EU trade. These include ports on the Humber, which already serves as the Northern Powerhouse’s gateway to Europe.

ABP is also working with European ports, such as Gothenburg, Esbjerg, Zeebrugge, Bilbao and Szczecin, which share our commitment to making sure trade between the UK and Europe can continue to flow and grow.

Assuming the UK leaves the Customs Union, ABP is supporting the creation of Free Ports (otherwise known as Free Trade Zones) in the UK. A report by Rishi Sunak MP points to the huge potential of Free Ports to attract investment in new world-leading manufacturing, helping to boost exports and rebalance the economy.

For example, the Port of Hull has large areas of development land close to deep water, ideal for the import of raw materials or components and export of finished products.

A Free Ports policy could super-charge the prospects for regeneration and growth in Hull and across the Northern Powerhouse.

Timber Trade Focus

The timber trade will continue to remain an important sector for ABP. The Port of Hull is the UK’s leading softwood timber port and it has a dedicated terminal for timber and paper products.

The Finland Terminal has trading routes from northern Europe, Russia, the Baltic States, and Scandinavia. A wide range of paper products and specialist paper-handling vessels can be accommodated at The Finland Terminal, which has more than 70,000m2 of covered storage.

A range of forest products such as chipboard, plywood, fibreboards and veneers are also handled. Leading roll-on roll-off shipping operator Finnlines has traded from the terminal since 1973 with their Baltic Sea service every week to Helsinki.

The Humber ports not only benefit from excellent connectivity by road, rail and inland waterway links, but there is also 364ha of development land in and around the ports which customers could use.

Hull has 259ha of greenfield and brownfield development land available.

So, we remain committed to the timber product sector and there will be further opportunities for it to grow and develop at our ports in 2018 and beyond.