Businesses across the West Midlands are facing higher costs, a big increase in paperwork and hold-ups at ports.

Food producers and road hauliers have warned the government that the supply of food and drink to supermarkets is “failing” due to a chronic shortage of HGV drivers.

As we pass 60 days of Brexit entering the final month of the first quarter of 2021, let’s take a deeper look at the impact of Brexit on UK businesses and especially e-commerce businesses. Before authoring this article, I had numerous conversations with independent e-commerce business founders. I have based this article on those discussions to bring forward first-hand experiences.

Within a week, implications of the Brexit are being felt by businesses as food deliveries are delayed for not having the right customs paperwork, logistics companies halt the shipment of goods, and retailers discover their supply chains might be obsolete.

A "safety and security" agreement removing the need for post-Brexit entry and exit declarations between Britain and the north of Ireland is needed, the freight industry said.

Alpine executive director Marcin Budkowski has revealed that border delays linked to Brexit forced the team to change the way it worked whilst preparing for the new Formula 1 season.

BBC Scotland has broken its silence as the questions around its policy of reporting on Brexit mount. / The broadcaster has come under fire in recent days after it aired an interview with the president of the National Farmers Union (NFU) Scotland, Martin Kennedy.

Three years after Brexit, we asked designers, design entrepreneurs and representatives of British design organisations how the withdrawal from the European Union has affected the design industry.

Freight hauliers are rejecting more cargoes due to cross the U.K. border because of post-Brexit customs friction, and that’s likely to become the new normal.

Friction at the U.K. border is rising again following Brexit as shipping companies rejected more cargoes due to cross the English Channel from France.

Small design firms in the UK are moving their production abroad and setting up businesses in the European Union to get around a slump in business following Brexit. / "The UK is no longer a viable distribution hub" / "Best to not have anything even touching the UK" / "If you speak to any company, they're finding ways to remain in the EU"

It’s not the additional costs themselves, but more about the time and hassle for extra admin.

Brexit issues are causing small to medium-sized (SME) manufacturers in the West Midlands significant disruption as they look to recover from the economic effects of Covid-19.

MacDuff 1890 were supplying customers on the continent with 'Rolls Royce of Scottish Beef'.

Lincoln-based insulation manufacturer and supplier, SuperFOIL Insulation, says it has lost a quarter of a million pounds revenue as a result of Brexit.

Supply-chain pain caused by the UK’s split from the European Union still lingers for British manufacturers and retailers trying trade with the rest of Europe and beyond.

UK drug distributors and those involved in the parallel importing of drugs have told the parliamentary Health Select Committee that they want to see the UK remain in the customs union and the single market.

‘What the government once called teething problems have now become a chronic condition’

Brexit has damaged the UK's position as a gateway to Europe for imported goods and increased red tape.

Extra charges, disappearing suppliers and slow delivery times are killing off the side hustle

Supply chain issues, skills shortages, increased costs and red tape among the issues cited.

Brexit-related issues are causing disruption for SME manufacturers in Yorkshire and the Humber, according to a new report.

One local business that is very much at the forefront of the impact of Brexit is BJW Logistics Ltd, a small transport company in Taunton, Somerset. I spoke to Barry, the owner and director of the company.

The logistics sector, with its daily responsibility for keeping goods, food and medical supplies crisscrossing the UK, was hit by a double whammy in 2020 and the opening two months of 2021.

Supply chain disruptions pushed U.K. manufacturing output to its weakest level in nine months as friction moving goods across the border after Brexit persisted.

For many suppliers and logistics specialists, it was obvious that Brexit would disrupt the continuity of trade, and its negative effects would affect both the United Kingdom and the countries of the European Union.

Brexit is likely to have a negative impact on the business between Germany and the UK, the German DIHK Chambers of Industry and Commerce said on Tuesday, adding that a trade and cooperation agreement with Britain can only partially offset the downturn.

Incorrectly filled-out forms, missing data and documents: Even over 5 weeks after the UK left the EU, goods transports via the Channel are still fraught with obstacles – particularly to the detriment of British companies.

Those expecting the deal meant trade could carry on in the same friction-free, tariff-free manner as before were in for something of a shock on 1 January 2021 when shipments were stuck at borders due to incorrect paperwork.

The UK’s official departure from the EU took place on January 1, 2021. The Brexit roll-out, not unexpectedly, has been awash with problems.

Stock shortages and ‘random’ delays getting food from the EU will only get worse as new rules are phased in throughout this year, supply chain and logistics experts have warned.

The consequences of ending the free movement of people between Britain and the EU are becoming painfully clear.

Brompton is facing a host of problems from material shortages to rising production costs as the fallout from Brexit and Covid continues to impact UK manufacturers.

Former European trade commissioner Peter Mandelson said trying to circumnavigate Brussels was always going to backfire.

Businesses have been hit hard by Brexit, according to research by an affiliation on Chambers of Commerce in the region.

Northern Ireland traders call for an extension to Brexit deal grace periods amid warnings they’re drowning in paperwork.

Modelling projects 29-mile queues from potential delays caused by new digital controls, says trade body.

The Chief Executive of the Cold Chain Federation has called on the Defra Secretary to delay the implementation of BTOM until October 2024 to address “serious issues”.

Business lobby group warns failure to act will put UK’s economic recovery from Covid crisis at risk.

A RECORD 78 per cent of UK firms attempting to recruit faced difficulties in finding staff in the first quarter, a survey by British Chambers of Commerce shows.

Traditional continental Christmas markets that fill town squares and city centres across the UK will be smaller and less European this year.

The latest Government Business Insights report reveals that the transportation and storage sector has been hit hardest by Covid and Brexit. / ParcelHero says the shock result shows that more supply chain companies have closed and fewer surviving firms are currently trading than in any other sector.

German logistics company cites ‘significant’ paperwork issues. / U.K.-EU trade being disrupted by post-Brexit red tape.

‘Everyone is panicking,’ says Freight UK manager – despite Michael Gove’s attempts to reassure logistics industry.

Business group Logistics UK has reacted with dismay at today’s (7 July 2021) announcement of the continued relaxation of drivers’ hours legislation until 8 August 2021, which governs the length of time which HGV drivers are legally expected to work.

Declaration system may be swamped, leaving trucks stranded, with risk of price hikes and shortages.

Formula 1 teams hope the British government can help it in reducing the logistical nightmares that Brexit has triggered.

Britain’s departure from the European Union has triggered the biggest change in trade since it joined the bloc 48 years ago, with companies grappling with export documents, longer delivery times and the need to re-engineer supply chains.

Emergency traffic measures to last until ‘end of October 2021’ – with a giant lorry park to hold 2,000 goods vehicles.

Deliveries from France and Germany are at around 50 per cent of pre-Brexit levels as hauliers avoid red tape and queues.

Danish consultancy Sea-Intelligence has analysed the changes in deepsea container port calls and the number of deepsea services in the UK in the first quarter of this year, post-Brexit, comparing the numbers to Q1 2019, the last normal, non-pandemic first quarter.

UK to introduce import controls on certain food and agricultural goods from October 1.

The volume of lorries passing between Britain and its major European trading partners has fallen dramatically this month.

Any additional delays to the introduction of post-Brexit border checks on imports will simply postpone the inevitable, and send mixed signals to businesses that have been urged for months to get ready for the additional formalities involved with moving goods across the UK’s borders, according to business group Logistics UK.

'Inevitably it is perishable goods which are the most obviously impacted by transport delays, but the problems go much wider.'

The data also revealed a 25% decline in exports to the EU, which The Gin Guild has pinpointed as a “key element” in the loss.

Lorries will need permission from new HMRC computer system before heading for Dover.

June 2021 saw 31 haulage firm insolvencies, the highest in a single month since January 2019 as Brexit and driver shortages bite, according to data from Tower Bridge-based audit firm Mazars that was shared exclusively with City A.M. this afternoon.

Transport and logistics experts attempting to navigate customs changes brought about by Brexit have criticised a support scheme managed under a £200m contract awarded to a consortium led by a multinational IT firm.

Since the new year, the impact of Brexit has had a clear effect on every stage of the logistics process... According to new research, 50% of UK business decision makers felt that Brexit uncertainty had negatively impacted their supply chain in the last five years, with this only set to increase as the full effect of Brexit becomes clear.

1 January 2021 marked the end of frictionless trade between the UK and continental Europe.

An industry warning has been issued that the UK faces further potential supermarket shelf shortages – including confectionery, snacks and bakery aisles, amid Brexit-related supply chain complications, reports Neill Barston.

“The whole thing is stupid and pointless," one business owner at London's Borough Market has said.

Business group Logistics UK is urging government to prioritise the needs of the logistics industry, as Parliament continues to debate the Retained EU Law bill.

The challenges posed by the COVID-19 virus will make the effective implementation of any new legislation impossible in the short term, says FTA, the business group representing the logistics sector.

Nearly all small British manufacturers are struggling with rising costs, according to a survey on Thursday that showed widespread worries over recruitment and logistics caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit.

Firms will have to pass on extra costs of red tape, warns Fresh Produce Consortium.

Commenting on the spate of recent media reports that the government is considering another delay to the introduction of post-Brexit border checks on goods entering Britain from the EU, the freight sector says that it comes as no great surprise.

North East businesses have had difficulty trading with the European Union since Brexit, according to a new survey.

Almost one-in-four British exporters are planning on reducing their activity in the EU or eliminating it out entirely post-Brexit, according to a new survey.

Released by DDC FPO, a global provider of business process outsourcing solutions for the freight transport and logistics industry, the research shows that 99% of respondents to DDC FPO’s survey are currently facing Brexit-related challenges – and worryingly, nearly 70% expect their operations to be negatively affected for more than 12 months.

A growing tech company in Peterborough has opened an office in Holland in a bid to get round Brexit red tape.

As the cost of Brexit is counted in wrecked livelihoods, ordinary people are starting to call it out. Loudly. Peter Corr is a lorry driver in Derbyshire.

An error in the UK’s post-Brexit IT border system disrupted companies bringing goods in from the European Union, raising costs, adding bureaucracy and snarling deliveries.

Negotiations have removed the need for additional visas, but unviable restrictions for British artists touring Europe are still in place.

Ramsden International has fallen to its first-ever loss as new Brexit rules hit revenues at the wholesale exporter.

The impact of Britain’s departure from the European Union’s single market isn’t letting up after five weeks of the new trade deal.

Next, one of Britain’s biggest clothing retailers, warned it may struggle to deliver its normal service in the run up to Christmas unless the government relaxes post-Brexit immigration rules to allow more workers into the country.

It is now just over a month since the UK and EU went their separate ways. But many retailers, carriers and others involved in the world of cross-border ecommerce, may well feel that they have aged considerably more than just a few weeks.

The hurdles arising from the UK’s exit from the European Union and single market are highlighted by Scottish Engineering in the industry body’s commentary on its latest survey findings.

Many Scottish food and drink suppliers plan to decrease or stop exports to the EU amid the regulatory fallout from Brexit, an industry survey suggests.

Post-Brexit exports from the UK to EU countries now take 112 per cent longer on average, according to new research.

Shippers are “sleepwalking” towards the changeover of the UK’s customs infrastructure and need to “wake up” rather than seek to saddle HMRC with the blame for their failings, say freight specialists.

Sector faces ‘logistical minefield’ of customs declarations and VAT codes as stores and markets prepare to reopen.

Brexit related issues are causing significant disruption to English SME manufacturers looking to recover from the economic effects of COVID-19.

Why are there not enough people? What has suddenly happened that South Holland’s farmers cannot get the harvest in?

London, UK: Supply chains face a ‘winter of chaos’ from a no-deal Brexit and a second Covid-19 spike, says supply chain management company Scala Consulting.

Supermarket prices will rise more than is necessary unless there is greater collaboration with European suppliers on post-Brexit trade frictions, a Dutch business has warned.

The latest IHS Markit / CIPS survey for October saw the sector grow but bosses said they are being held back by job shortages and supply chain delays.

Pressure on supply chains is set to last throughout 2022, according to Logistics UK in a report that comes at the same time as fresh issues related to trade with Europe appear, with the government proposing unilateral action on Brexit.

Brexit was unquestionably a disaster for the UK’s amusement and gaming industry, said the trade personalities that we asked. / “For our business it was a catastrophe. We lost most of our export trade almost overnight"

Bridge Cheese founder Michael Harte shares his experiences of importing and exporting goods under the new EU trade agreement and looks at how the industry is having to adapt to the changing rules and regulations.

The past 12 months have been littered with grandiose claims about the benefits of Brexit and the ability of the UK to demand what it wants from the EU. But the sad and inescapable conclusion is that none of those benefits exist and that the UK has been forced into a number of embarrassing retreats and compromises.

Difficulties with logistics, trade with Northern Ireland, and the time and cost to fill out customs and due diligence paperwork are adding pressure to an already tight timber supply chain, a survey by the TTF has found.

Tesco has told ministers its suppliers are wasting nearly 50 tonnes of food a week because of the worsening HGV driver shortage, The Grocer has learned.

Tony Abbott was given a top role as UK trade ambassador despite widespread disquiet about his controversial views.

The UK Trade and Business Commission is gathering evidence to understand the main challenges facing businesses, organisations and economic sectors to establish which policies and trading arrangements will help overcome the economic and trading barriers facing the UK today.

Almost a third of U.K. logistics companies expect to face trucker shortages this year, and a 10th say recruitment issues will pose an “extreme barrier” to the recovery of their business from the pandemic.

The boss of a major UK manufacturing firm has told the BBC he is considering moving investment to the US or Europe due to new subsidies offered there.

The latest Food and Drink Federation (FDF) trade snapshot in the UK has made for sobering reading, revealing that export trade with our nearest neighbours across market segments was down by 13.1% against figures from three years ago, at £20.2 billion.

Exports of British gin have fallen for the second year running, according to the latest HMRC figures released yesterday.

As obvious as it is to see the decline in the number of clinical trials in the UK, the reasons behind this trend are as complicated to ascertain. Fiona Maini, Principal - Global Compliance and Strategy at Medidata Solutions, thinks the issue is multifaced with Brexit playing a part in this.

Britain's government has rejected calls from retail and logistics companies to temporarily ease post-Brexit immigration rules which they say are contributing to a shortage of truck drivers and acute supply chain disruption.

The well known logistics company, chaired by German billionaire Klaus-Michael Kühne, has been tasked with delivering “medicines and medical goods which are at risk of shortage” into the UK “within days”.

The UK government is still failing to understand the country’s supply chains, say logistics operators, or recognise their anxiety as more Brexit regulations loom.

Food body warns of ‘post-Brexit perception problem’ over recurring traffic gridlock.

It’s one of the labour shortfalls that has emerged partly because of border friction following Brexit.

Project Fear has become Project Reality—just look at Britain’s car industry.

After the U.S., the UK is the world's second-biggest market for art and antiques. But Brexit and the pandemic were major blows to sales in Britain last year, which slumped by 22 percent to $9.9 billion – the lowest level in a decade.

With supply chain problems being blamed on workers self-isolating, Caolan Robertson reports on what business owners, managers and labourers have been telling him across the country about the consequences of Brexit.

Nimisha Raja did all she could to prepare her business for 1 January but the upheaval is already taking its toll.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps warned of "a risk of some additional friction at the border".