DFDS Seaways is to increase capacity of its Felixstowe-Rotterdam freight shipping route from next month with an additional departure per week in each direction.

The additional services, which will operate on Fridays from July 3, are being launched in response to increasing demand which has resulted in record weekly volumes on the route.

They will involve a departure at 9am from Rotterdam with arrival in Felixstowe at around 3.30pm before leaving again for Rotterdam at 8pm.

This means thatthere will now be three round trips on Fridays, as on other days when three roll-on roll-off ships operate on the route.

Mikael Mortensen, route director at DFDS Seaways Rotterdam, said: “The extra departure on the Felixstowe route follows strong customer demand and volume growth on the route. Today we are pleased to announce that we set another weekly record with 66,285 lane metres, which equates to approximately 4,700 units.”

He added: “The extra departures allow customers to speed up their turnaround and thereby better utilise their trailers. It’s our expectation that this will further make the service an indispensable link for our customers who amongst others trade time-sensitive goods like fresh foods and car components.”

The growth on the Rotterdam-Felxistowe route reflects a wider improvement across the Copenhagen-based DFDS group’s transport network.

Last month, DFDS presented the best first quarter results in the recent history of the company, with revenue up by 3% to 393million euros (£288m). The performance of its shipping activities improved in most areas, with considerable volume growth was achieved on the routes between the Netherland/Denmark and the UK.

DFDS Seaways Rotterdam operates 22 departures per week to Felixstowe and Immingham in the UK, using a total of five freight ships which transport trailers, trucks and special cargo such as steel and timber. Terminal services include sorting of cargo and a trailer and truck workshop.

Besides shipping and terminal services, DFDS also provides transport and logistics services supported by a European network of road, rail and container carriers alongside its network of ferry routes that also welcome about 6million passengers per year.

The group serves around 8,000 freight customers in all and has an anuual turnover of 1.7billion euros (£1.25bn).