n a further sign of Brexit affecting trade, lorry freight volumes on ferries between Holyhead and Dublin - the busiest Irish Sea route - fell by a third in the first nine months of year.

New industry figures to be published shortly will show a sharp reduction in the number of lorries moving between Ireland and Britain and across the "landbridge" to mainland Europe as companies prefer the certainty of direct routes without border checks and controls.

Dublin and Rosslare have recorded sharp declines in lorry freight traffic between Ireland and Britain but a surge in freight volumes on direct routes as traders avoid post-Brexit Britain.

There has been an increase in lorry freight moving on ferries between Northern Ireland and Britain as hauliers move away from ports in the Republic to avoid checks on goods.

Neither Dublin Port or Rosslare Europort have experienced the disruption to shipping witnessed in the UK where shipping companies have had to divert supersized cargo vessels away from Britain because of bottlenecks in the global supply chain and a shortage of lorry drivers.

The world's largest shipping company Maersk was forced to send ships bound for the English port of Felixstowe, the UK's largest commercial port, to Rotterdam and Antwerp after the port suffered a chronic build-up of containers and 20,000 container ships were waiting days to dock.

It is worth noting that as well as increasing north-south trade within Ireland, Brexit has resulted in an increasing east-west trade between Britain and N. Ireland. So much for the Protocol's alleged damaging of trade links between Britain and N. Ireland...

Index of Frank's Diaries