“The current situation should not be considered a consequence of Covid,” Burnett wrote in the letter. “If anything, the absence of the pandemic would have made it worse, because volumes would be greater.”

Fifteen-Hour Brexit Wait Prompts Freight Firms to Avoid U.K.

Freight firms have been shunning the U.K since it left the bloc’s single market on Dec. 31, with additional checks creating hours-long queues and extra costs for exporters.

In addition to the decline in goods crossing the border, between 65% and 75% of vehicles that arrived from the EU were returning empty because there were no goods for them to transport, the Observer reported, citing RHA’s Burnett.