Manufacturing, retailing within the UK sectors at risk of shipping disruptions
Insight from Cleveland Containers identified key areas of exposure and explained how UK businesses are adjusting to ongoing volatility in shipping routes, as global trade continues to be uncertain.
Government figures from the Department for Transport show that most of the UK’s freight is moving by sea, 85% by weight and 55% by value by 2024. This makes industries including construction, manufacturing, and retail particularly sensitive to disruptions in the world’s maritime corridors, whether due to geopolitical conflicts, infrastructure problems, or weather events.
A recent analysis by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also found that, by 2024, instability in the Red Sea caused UK-bound container ships to drift around the Cape of Good Hope.
This extended delivery times by several weeks and emphasized the limited flexibility many businesses have to handle unexpected delays.
International organizations such as the UN Trade and Development have also warned that ongoing problems in the Red Sea, the Suez Canal, and the Panama Canal are increasing costs and increasing difficulties in global consumption.
Cleveland Containers chief commercial officer Richard Gray said: “The challenge facing businesses is that supply chain disruption is no longer a one-off event. Disruption across trade routes is becoming the norm, and that is changing the way businesses need to think about stock, location and contingency planning.”
Cleveland Containers noted that sectors dependent on overseas exports are the fastest to feel the impact of a trade shock.
According to the company, production is at high risk of disruption, as it depends on machinery, equipment and parts that are often bought around the world.
The latest ONS trade report highlights how shifts in these sectors continue to impact monthly UK imports and exports on market performance in both EU and non-EU markets.
Construction is also one of the industries at risk, with government data showing that 60.2% of UK construction materials imports will come from the EU by 2025. Any disruption can affect project timelines, costs and availability of materials.
Additionally, retail and food chains face some pressure due to tightening cycles, making delays difficult to absorb.
Gray added: “Businesses often think of disruption in terms of goods arriving on time, but the real problem is what’s behind that.
As a result, many UK businesses are re-examining their supply chain strategies. The government’s Key Imports and Exports strategy reflects a broader change, urging authorities and companies to strengthen resilience and reduce exposure.
International organizations, including the OECD and the World Economic Forum, also point to the increasing frequency of disruptions and the need to measure efficiency and preparedness.
In order to deal with these risks, companies have started to adopt different methods such as diversifying suppliers, increasing the stock of important materials, and improving the visibility of the supply chain through digital technology.
Storage solutions are important in this context. Some businesses are turning to flexible storage, where they use shipping containers to build additional capacity without investing in permanent facilities. This allows for quick adjustments to inventory levels in response to supply delays or disruptions.
“The businesses that will best deal with future disruptions are the ones that plan now. It’s not about eliminating risk entirely, but about making sure that if something goes wrong, it doesn’t stop operations,” added Gray.
“Manufacturing, retailing among UK sectors at risk of shipping disruptions” was originally developed and published by Just Style, a brand owned by GlobalData.
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