Half UK ports feel Brexit wont affect them

(Posted on 24/09/19)

Maritime industry professionals in the UK remain confident about the year ahead despite wider uncertainty, according to new data published by the British Ports Association today. Ports themselves are more likely to be worried about the economy over the next 12 months, however.

Confidence: Less than a third (29%) of ports feel confident about the economy in the next year, but 51% of the wider maritime industry feels confident. 83% of ports were planning investments into new business services, property or infrastructure in the next three months.

Brexit: The survey reveals that half of ports do not feel that Brexit will affect them (either negatively or positively) in the next year, whilst a third feel it will impact them negatively. This can be attributed to the structure of the industry (i.e. some ports will handle more non-EU trade, for example)

Employment: On the back of new figures last week showing that the ports industry directly employs 115,000 people, one third of ports that responded reported that they would be hiring additional staff in the next 12 months.

Revenue: 45% of ports that responded said that their revenue had gone up in the last 12 months, 26% said it was stable and 29% said it had dropped.

Top concerns: The economy was cited as the top concern by ports, closely followed by Brexit (which may be related). Environment/Climate Change (including regulation) was in third place. Maritime industry professionals cited Brexit, Environment/Climate Change (including regulation), and the economy as their top three concerns in that order.

Key takeaways for the British Ports Association:

• UK Ports policy is working and delivering a thriving and competitive independent sector. 83% are planning investment in new services or infrastructure and a third of ports surveyed are planning to hire new, additional, staff in the next year.
• Despite continuing political and economic uncertainty clouding the horizon, the majority of ports are confident about their business over the next year
• Two-thirds of port professionals are concerned about the economic outlook and a similar number are concerned about the impact of Brexit (which may be related). This is good news for the economy as jobs in the ports industry are 55% more productive than average

Commenting on the results, Phoebe Warneford-Thomson, Political and Economic Analyst at the British Ports Association said: 2The results of the BPA Business Confidence Survey reveal that ports are strong, resilient and performing well under the current economic climate.”

Latest News

Peel Ports halves operational greenhouse gas emissions in five years

Peel Ports Group has achieved a 48% reduction in operational greenhouse gas emissions in the last five... Read more

Métivier appointed President and CEO of Trois-Rivières Port Authority

The Trois-Rivières Port Authority (TRPA) in Canada has announced the appointment of Mr. Anick... Read more

Automated pulp handling boosts efficiency and safety at Rauma terminal

Euroports commitment to continuously improving operational efficiency, enhancing workplace safety, and... Read more

Bilbao forges closer ties with the COSCO Group

Under the slogan ‘Your Intermodal Link Between China, Iberia and the Atlantic Markets,’... Read more

Hamburg promotes international exchange in China

Port of Hamburg Marketing (HHM) continues to strengthen its successful cooperation with Chinese port... Read more

Rotterdam throughput falls in first nine months of 2025

Total throughput in the port of Rotterdam fell slightly by 2.6% in the third quarter of 2025 compared... Read more

Bayan, Indonesia, reaches 100,000 operating hours

E-Crane Asia has announced a major milestone achieved by Bayan in Indonesia: the company’s three... Read more

Teesport automated weighbridges boost bulk cargo efficiency

PD Ports has successfully introduced fully automated weighbridge systems at Teesport and Hartlepool,... Read more

Mixed picture for Antwerp-Bruges in volatile trade climate

In the first nine months of 2025, Port of Antwerp-Bruges handled 202.6 million tonnes of maritime goods... Read more

NPRC presents strategic course at 90th anniversary assembly

The 90th General Assembly of the inland shipping cooperative NPRC has highlighted the importance of... Read more