Northern Ireland ports record busiest year for freight traffic

Northern Ireland ports had their busiest ever year for freight traffic in 2021, with volumes surpassing pre-Covid levels.

Official figures show total tonnage was 29.5m, up 9% on 2020 and 8% on 2019.

That was significantly higher growth compared to the UK as a whole, where tonnage increased by 1.5%.

Inward tonnage was slightly below the record level of 2018, while outward tonnage was 11% above its previous high.

Scrutiny of Northern Ireland's trade data has become politicised in light of the Northern Ireland protocol.

The protocol is the post-Brexit trading arrangement which was agreed by the UK and EU.

It keeps Northern Ireland inside the EU's single market for goods, giving Northern Ireland manufacturers better access to the EU than companies in other parts of the UK.

But it also means there are checks and controls on goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain, leading to added cost and complexity for importing businesses.

Supporters of the protocol are looking for evidence that the arrangement has boosted, or at least protected trade, while opponents seek to show the opposite.

Official data from Ireland's Central Statistics Office suggests there has been a significant increase in trade between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

There are so far no official figures which show what has happened to trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

The ports data may suggest that intra-UK trade has held up, but comes with significant caveats.

Northern Ireland is not necessarily the ultimate destination for goods arriving and goods leaving are not necessarily from Northern Ireland.

Evidence from port authorities and Ireland's Maritime Development Office (IMDO) suggest the protocol has caused patterns of trade to change.

Under the protocol, goods leaving Northern Ireland ports for Great Britain do not face any checks or controls.

However, if Northern Ireland goods are shipped to Great Britain via ports in the Republic of Ireland they do face post-Brexit controls.

That has led to some Northern Ireland hauliers and their customers reducing their use of Dublin port in favour of Northern Ireland ports.

Analysis published last year by the IMDO said it was clear that from early 2021, haulage companies based in Northern Ireland had "transferred some traffic away from services in the Republic of Ireland in order to avoid the new customs requirements involved between Ireland and UK ports".

That could mean that some of the big increase in outward tonnage from Northern Ireland ports in 2021 reflects the fact that Northern Ireland hauliers are making less use of Dublin port when sending goods to GB.