On the range of continental ports from Rotterdam to Roscoff, we have listed 38 maritime freight routes serving the United Kingdom, operated by six shipping lines. The supply is significant, even according to some in excess capacity, given the volumes. Freight traffic is largely dependent on the British economy. And right from the first point of growth lost across the Channel, the volumes transported in one direction or the other are reduced. And after the strong post-Covid recovery, the UK economy, like that of Europe as a whole, has slowed down over the past two years.
Europe / Great Britain
These links can be classified into three categories. The first concerns rotations between the continent and Great Britain. They are in the majority, with 27 lanes out of the 38 that we have listed. France occupies a privileged position, benefiting from its geographical advantages: the Strait of Dover is the shortest passage between the continent and the United Kingdom, with a distance of around 36 km.
In Calais, DFDS, Irish Ferries and P&O Ferries offer numerous daily departures to Dover, with the most frequent crossings going to P&O Ferries with 70 departures. The shipowner connects the two ports in 45 minutes with several ships, and holds the largest market share on this route. Next comes Irish Ferries, which connects the two ports 19 times a day, then DFDS with 10 rotations. The Danish shipping company also operates services to Dover from Dunkirk. The route is slightly longer than from Calais, but this option provides road carriers with a less congested alternative than Calais can be on some days. Furthermore, in Dunkirk, DFDS operates the cross-Channel terminal alone and can therefore manage its rotations more easily.
The inauguration of the Channel Tunnel in 1994 opened up new opportunities for transporting goods between Europe and Great Britain. In addition to the pure rail freight option, Eurotunnel, the operator of the Channel Tunnel, offers road carriers a rail shuttle service on which heavy goods vehicles are loaded. The service, known as "LeShuttle Freight" since 2023, offers a crossing time of 35 minutes between Calais and Folkestone in Great Britain, compared to 90 minutes by ferry between Calais and Dover. During the crossing, a “Club Car” welcomes truck drivers.
France provides rotations to Great Britain from ports other than those via the Strait of Dover. Indeed, it is the European country with the longest coastline facing Great Britain. From Dieppe to Roscoff, seven ports offer connections, the vast majority of which are provided by Brittany Ferries. The Roscoff-based shipping company serves the United Kingdom from Le Havre, Caen, Cherbourg, Saint-Malo, and Roscoff. Routes that are shared between freight and passengers. At the Caen-Ouistreham site, managed by Ports de Normandie, Brittany Ferries concentrates a large part of the freight via the central English Channel. The lines from Le Havre, which connect the continent to Portsmouth and Poole, have tended to contract in recent years. In Dieppe, DFDS operates a twice-daily service to Newhaven as part of a public service delegation from the Normandy region.
Cross-Channel connections are also provided from Belgium and the Netherlands. In Belgium, ferry lines depart from the port of Zeebrugge. DFDS and P&O Ferries serve Hull, Immingham, Teesport and Tilbury, the latter accounting for a large proportion of traffic due to its proximity to the British capital. Furthermore, some shipping lines also provide rotations to Great Britain for unaccompanied trailers.
Finally, from the Netherlands, competition between DFDS, Stena Line and P&O Ferries is raging in Rotterdam. The three shipping lines provide services on the east coast of England to the ports ranging between Tilbury and Hull. These lines connect the number one port on the European continent to the main British port sites: Felixstowe, Harwich, Tilbury (near the London Gateway). Finally, DFDS offers an alternative with a daily departure from Amsterdam to Newcastle.
Europe / Ireland
Direct connections between the European continent and Ireland have increased after Brexit. Up until 1, February 2020, European truckers largely passed through Great Britain, taking advantage of the short sea and land links to then reach the ports on the east coast by road and cross to Ireland. A route that professionals have called the Land Bridge, as opposed to a direct sea bridge. However, after Brexit, customs regulations have extended transit times through British ports. For road operators, using this Land Bridge means carrying out administrative operations when entering Great Britain and again when entering Ireland. A boon for French ports. Well before Brexit, ports like Cherbourg and Roscoff saw the development potential of the Irish market. Brittany Ferries has started services to Cork and Rosslare, Irish Ferries operates from the port on the Cotentin Pensinsula to Dublin, and Stena Line serves Rosslare.
In addition, from the Strait of Dover, the ports have considered offering longer routes to Ireland. In 2020, DFDS opened a route from Dunkirk. Little by little, this route is finding its place in the market. However, Irish Ferries is having a hard time dealing with this competition from Dunkirk. The company responded by moving into DFDS's main market, the routes to Britain via the Strait of Dover. An open war that is contributing to overcapacity. If we combine the ferry lines from Calais and Dunkirk with the Eurotunnel rail shuttles, we reach a figure of 147 departures per day to Dover and Folkestone.
Great Britain / Ireland
On the east coast of Great Britain, Stena Line, P&O Ferries and Irish Ferries operate services to Eire and Northern Ireland from Cairnryan, Holyhead, Fishguard, Heysham, Liverpool and Pembroke. These routes serve Dublin, Rosslare and Larne for the south of the Irish island. Three routes are operated to Belfast and Larne in Northern Ireland from Cairnryan, Heysham and Liverpool.
Traffic data concerning cross-Channel freight transport activity is complex to obtain. On the British side, the government publishes data that group together articulated trailer units on the one hand, and unaccompanied trailers on the other, in tonnes. The total of these two categories reached a peak of 90 Mt in 2018, which has never been equalled since. According to the latest available statistics, which cover the year 2023, the traffic of units and trailers fell to about 82 Mt.
Figures published by French ports and operators also provide information on the general trend.
The results published by shipping companies
On the shipowners' side, Irish Ferries, DFDS and Brittany Ferries are providing figures on cross-Channel connections by consolidating all of their freight activities.
With 1,198,052 trucks transported in 2024, Eurotunnel shuttle traffic is down 1% compared to 2023, "due to strong competition in the market," explains parent company Getlink in the publication of the annual results. In a Dover Straits market that is currently suffering from overcapacity, the Truck Shuttle Service nevertheless remains "the market leader with a market share of 35.7% over the year compared to 35.9% in 2023."
Port results
The traffic data provided by the ports is also quite heterogeneous and incomplete.
The cross-Channel market has undoubtedly been influenced by Brexit. Beyond the variation in flows, which is difficult to attribute exclusively to Brexit given the coinciding Covid pandemic, the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union has left lasting traces in the organisation of services, with the development of direct links to Ireland. Competition between operators is tough, but this has been the case for a long time, particularly in the Strait of Dover.
French ports are now embarking on the adventure of rail transport. Calais has already created a terminal for horizontal loading of trailers, which is helping to attract additional traffic. "Rolling highway services set a new record with 46,000 units, up 10%. One third of the freight units transported on the rolling highways in France are destined for, or departing from, the port of Calais," the port indicates in its annual report. Calais benefits in particular from the direct connection with the port of Sète. The Hérault port receives trailers from Turkey, which reach Calais by rail before leaving by ferry to the United Kingdom. A low-carbon supply chain that is attracting more and more shippers.
The success of this structure is encouraging their competitors to gain a foothold in the sector. The port of Dunkirk has launched a call for expressions of interest for the creation and operation of a rail freight terminal at its West Port. This should be operational in early 2026. Finally, the port of Cherbourg is also actively preparing for the entry into operational service of its rail freight terminal. Initiated by Brittany Ferries, the Cherbourg-Bayonne route should allow the operator to consolidate its positions between Spain, Great Britain and Ireland.
Today, the routes are limited to France. But tomorrow, rail transport wants to expand eastward. The director general of the Boulogne-Calais port, Laurent Devulder, declared at the SITL that he had his sights set on Eastern Europe. "We are targeting markets such as Romania, Poland and other countries to transport articulated units directly to the port before offering them services to the United Kingdom." This ambition will not replace the traditional cross-Channel freight carried out directly by road carriers. It will be a point of rebalancing supply and demand in market conditions that are sometimes in overcapacity.