Latest Felixstowe strike impacts goods worth £100m

£100 million of toys, consoles and clothing commodities could be disrupted by the latest strike action in the lead up to Christmas as Felixstowe workers gear up for renewed industrial action from 27 September to 5 October 2022, according to ALPS Marine analysis by Russell Group.

There are fears that the stoppage could result in serious disruption in the run up to the festive season, which also includes Halloween and Black Friday.

Russell’s analysis reports that clothing worth an estimated £72m and toys and video game consoles with a combined economic value of £29.5m are scheduled to be imported into Felixstowe during the 27th September to 5th October period.

The economic value of all imports into Felixstowe during the period would amount to £532m, while goods exported from Felixstowe would be £415m, bringing the combined import/export flow of trade through the port to £947m.

Russell Group managing director, Suki Basi said: “A strike at Felixstowe in August led to vessel diversions to other UK and European ports. One month on, we anticipate something similar happening as renewed strike action looks set to disrupt retailers and businesses waiting for vital imports at one of the busiest periods for the UK economy.

”Businesses can’t predict when strikes are going to happen but when it does occur they can predict the probable impact on their supply chain through the use of increasingly sophisticated forward looking connected trade flow analysis. This would help them to make alternative arrangements that ultimately protect business continuity and even viability.”