Brexit time has come. After three and a half years of negotiations, the United Kingdom is leaving the European Union on 31 January 2020.

On this occasion, the CNR is presenting a new study dedicated to British road freight transport, detailing the situation prior to Brexit.

The UK's TRM activity is not very internationally oriented, accounting for only 4% of the flag's total activity.

The country's island location has an impact on the activity of British transport companies. Local transport operators have particularly high infrastructure costs, half of which relate to tunnels and ferries. Taxes are also higher than in neighbouring countries. On the other hand, the British flag differs from other Western flags in that there is no collective agreement in the profession and contribution rates are low: the apparent employer rate is 9.9% %, enabling it to offer a lower cost per hour of driving than its neighbours.

The wait-and-see attitude caused by the uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the unknown that follows is illustrated by the practices of heavy goods vehicle renewal: for more than three years, vehicle replacement has often been postponed, which is not insignificant for an industrial vehicle. Sometimes, some have chosen to switch to short-term financial leasing: three years. That was all it took.

This new study is supplemented by a summary containing comparative data with France.