Timber, wheels and stores landed on a quay beside sailing ships, photographed by Roger Fenton in 1855 — Illustration: Roger Fenton, Landing Place, Railway Stores, Balaklava, 1855. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, public domain.

Industry News12 Oct 2026 · 2 min read

Materials and freight: Finsa opens at Birkenhead, Asia container rates ease

Board maker Finsa has opened a £20 million port and distribution centre in the Wirral Waters Freeport. Freightos puts Asia to North Europe container rates down 9 percent, with carriers signalling increases for late October.

Published by The Furniture Magazine

In brief

Board maker Finsa has opened a £20 million port and distribution centre at Birkenhead, with its own dock and crane.
Freightos reported Asia to North Europe container spot rates down 9 percent to about $3,400 per forty-foot container on 30 September.
Freightos also noted carriers announcing rate increases for late October, and rates still about 50 percent above a year earlier.

Finsa opens at Birkenhead

Finsa UK, the British arm of the Spanish wood panel group Financiera Maderera, has opened new port facilities and a distribution centre at Grandidges Quay, Birkenhead, in the Wirral Waters Freeport, developed with Peel Ports. The £20 million, 156,000 sq ft site has a logistics warehouse, an office building made from cross-laminated timber and a dedicated dock with a new crane, so vessels can be unloaded directly. Finsa has traded in the UK since 1978 and in Merseyside since 1990, and supplies distributors and manufacturers in construction and interiors.

“Our £20 million investment in Birkenhead reaffirms our long-term commitment to the British market.”
— Finsa

Read the report in Furniture and Joinery Production

Container rates from Asia ease, for now

For workshops buying imported hardware, fabric or components, freight is part of the price. Freightos' update of 30 September put Asia to North Europe spot rates (its FBX11 index) down 9 percent on the week to about $3,400 per forty-foot container, and Asia to Mediterranean rates down 7 percent to $3,600. It put the fall down to cooling demand and carriers adding capacity as more ships return to the Red Sea route. The same update notes some carriers are announcing increases for late October, and that congestion and fuel surcharges keep rates about 50 percent above a year ago.

Freightos update, 30 September 2026

Sources

The Furniture Magazine