The logic is that transportation firms move goods in transit and provide a glimpse into the pipeline of corporate America.

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Transport lags can cause annual global exports to exceed imports when trade is growing rapidly because goods in transit in December are counted as exports by China, say, but are not counted as imports by America until January.

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They range from buying goods in retail stores and at unattended kiosks, to transit ticketing, and even securely accessing buildings and computers networks.

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If you then now reduce the vehicle traffic that is allowed across the Alps, how is that shortfall going to be made up, other than a reduction in the total number of goods that are allowed to transit?

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It was introduced by the UK Treasury in 1983 to help speed up the transit of low-value goods, which may have otherwise been delayed by customs.

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