Channel Tunnel traffic falls in 'politically uncertain' market

Truck traffic through the Channel Tunnel fell 14% year-on-year to 122,349 in June, primarily due to the impact of weakness in the automotive sector, the operator said on Thursday.

Getlink, formerly known as Groupe Eurotunnel, said the UK automotive sector had been slow to restart after its spring shutdowns.

It said express courier flows continued to hold up well, however.

Since the start of the year, nearly 810,000 trucks had crossed the Channel on ‘Le Shuttle’ freight services, which was down 4% year-on-year.

In June, passenger shuttles transported 235,833 passenger vehicles, which was down 2% compared to June 2018, which Getlink put down to a “politically uncertain” UK market.

Since 1 January, almost 1,166,000 passenger vehicles had crossed the Channel with Le Shuttle, which was also 2% weaker year-on-year.

“In this challenging environment, Eurotunnel continues to strengthen its commercial position,” the Getlink board said in its statement.

The group said its half-year results would be published on 23 July, with July traffic figures to be published on 13 August.