After Brexit, Ireland and France cut out the middleman - Britain

Brexit delays and customs checks have led to a surge in demand to ship goods in and out of Ireland direct to European ports like Cherbourg in France. Picture: Reuters/Gonzalo Fuentes

From his office overlooking Cherbourg docks, general manager Yannick Millet points to trailers destined for Ireland that belong to Amazon and FedEx, new customers and a signal of a potential big shift in post-Brexit trade.

Confronted by red tape and delays after Britain's messy exit from the European Union, Irish traders are shipping goods directly to and from European ports, shunning the once-speedier route through Britain.