Stena Line Freight has revealed an unprecedented 44% increase in its Irish Sea business during…
Stena Line Freight has revealed an unprecedented 44% increase in its Irish Sea business during the first six months of 2004 compared with the same period last year – part of an overall 11% increase across the company’s entire route network.
The main bulk of the Irish Sea increases have come from the Republic of Ireland where volumes are up 36%, primarily on the central corridor, i.e., Stena Line’s Holyhead to Dublin and Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire routes.
According to Stena Line Freight, a number of factors have contributed to the massive increase in volumes including the introduction of the Stena Adventurer with its user-friendly loading and unloading facilities coupled with the two tier berth investment at Holyhead.
Crucially, the Stena Adventurer is also the first vessel into Dublin each morning ahead of the rush hour traffic, which enables drivers to meet exacting delivery schedules each day.
Another contributory factor to the success of the central corridor was the timetable change which Stena Line introduced out of Dublin in response to customer demands. A 2115hrs departure time now means that drivers are able to build extra time into their departure schedules whilst with their cargo arriving in Holyhead at 0030hrs they still have ample time to meet the needs of any aspect of the UK market.
The other main feature of the first six months which has helped boost Stena Line volumes has been the acquisition of the Fleetwood to Larne route along with three vessels from P&O. From the purchase date in April of this year the route has contributed positively to volumes.
The performance of the Fleetwood to Larne route has been excellent from day one, said Frank Nieuwenhuys, Freight Commercial Manager for Stena Line Freight.
Our volumes are consistently above our expectations throughout our key markets and we are delighted with the start we have made to the business this year. Competition remains intense though and we are totally focussed on taking our business forward in the second half of this year. We continue to look at ways of developing our core activities and have implemented a programme of continuous improvement across every area of our business,” he added.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
