Posted on: 5 October 2015
P&O Ferries carried more freight between Dover and Calais in the third quarter of the year than ever before in its modern history.
The company transported 367,000 units of freight across the English Channel between July and September – a 30 per cent increase on the same period last year and the best single quarter since 2003.
September alone was the best single month for freight since 2003, with 129,500 units transported between Britain and France. The figure surpassed the previous monthly record (123,000) which was set in July this year.
Freight comprises around two-thirds of P&O Ferries’ business, with tourists accounting for one-third.
Helen Deeble, Chief Executive of P&O Ferries, said: “These figures reinforce the importance of the cross-Channel ferry industry to the hundreds of thousands of businesses which rely on the efficient transportation of goods between Britain and France.”
“This quarter has been unprecedented, with the strike by French seamen and the temporary closure of the port of Calais bringing major logistical challenges. I am very proud that everyone at P&O Ferries has risen to that challenge and helped to keep exceptional volumes of freight moving across the Channel.”
“Demand for cross-Channel transport is only going to increase, driven by a rising population and a recovering economy. We have increased the number of sailings we make between Dover and Calais to 58 a day and brought a sixth ship back into service on the route in order to make sure that we are best placed to meet that demand.”
The news follows a strong tourist performance in August, with the company carrying its highest monthly number of people across the Channel since August 2003.
P&O Ferries is a leading pan-European ferry operator, sailing on nine major routes between Britain, France, Ireland, Holland and Belgium. The company operates 20 vessels which carry more than 10 million passengers, 1.6 million cars and two million freight units every year.
