The UK minister responsible for no-deal planning, Michael Gove, has written to logistics groups with the government's "reasonable worst-case scenario" planning, which warns of possible two-day delays for cargo travelling to France in January.
The Cabinet Office document states that, in its reasonable worst-case scenario, between 30-50% of trucks crossing the Channel will not be ready for the new regulations coming into force on 1 January 2021.
A "lack of capacity to hold unready trucks at French ports" could also reduce the flow of traffic across the strait to 60-80% of normal levels. "This could lead to maximum queues of 7,000 port bound trucks in Kent and associated maximum delays of up to two days," the documents said.