Ferry – freight: Total volumes in October 2021 were 7.6% below 2020. Net adjustments for structural route changes reduced growth 2.3 ppt to -9.9%.

The decrease in total volumes was due to lower volumes on UK routes compared to 2020 as stockbuilding in the UK ahead of Brexit started to boost volumes in October 2020. In addition, the current supply chain bottlenecks have led to a slowdown in UK volumes as some importers and exporters temporarily capped volumes during the month to avoid further congestion of supply chains. Channel and North Sea volumes were thus below 2020 in October.

The Mediterranean business unit continued to carry volumes above 2020 while Baltic Sea volumes were below 2020 as capacity on one route was reduced from two ferries in 2020 to one ferry in October 2021.

Volumes for the Mediterranean and Baltic Sea business units were above 2019 in October 2021 while the supply chain bottlenecks impacting the UK decreased volumes in Channel and North Sea to below 2019.

Ferry – passenger: The total number of passengers in October 2021 was 89.6% above 2020. The increase was largest between Norway and Denmark where travel restrictions to a large extent were abolished in October. The number of passengers on UK routes is also picking up but at lower pace as travel restrictions are still in place for travel on these routes.