Forwarding, Freight News, Road, Sea

Brexit changes the game for port haulage, says Freight Base

[ September 14, 2026   //   Chris Lewis ]

The UK’s light haulage fleet needs to grow by more than half within the next 18 months to keep pace with freight now arriving directly through the country’s container ports, says the Freight Base online marketplace, quoting Department for Transport projections.

It says that since Brexit, container traffic that once moved through Rotterdam and Antwerp before onward distribution around the UK has shifted to arrive directly at British ports, with Southampton, Felixstowe, Immingham, Middlesbrough and Liverpool, alongside a new wave of inland rail-served container ports including Wakefield and Northampton. That shift has moved the industry away from the traditional hub-and-spoke model toward direct van delivery from port to door, driving demand for the light-haulage capacity, it says.

Freight forwarders can join and post jobs on Freight Base free of charge, with no monthly limit. Carriers pay a monthly fee and are charged for the work they undertake through the platform.

It says that over 200 carriers from have joined Freight Base ahead of its launch.

Tags: Freight Base