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Often the cabs don't go on the ferries. They drop the trailer at the dock, a separate crew driving yard tractors loads the trailers onto the ferry, and they get

Often the cabs don't go on the ferries. They drop the trailer at the dock, a separate crew driving yard tractors loads the trailers onto the ferry, and they get unloaded on the other side, where another cab picks them up to continue. This can be more efficient as you don't need space on the ferries for the cabs, and you don't have dozens of drivers waiting around for the ferry to arrive. The yard drivers at the dock are very skilled at quickly getting the trailers on and off the boat, while road drivers would take a lot more time with these manouvers.

simonh 5y ago
This is true for a lot of goods, but if you go on passenger ferries you'll still see tons of commercial trucks streaming in and out of the port. For time sensitive deliveries, like perishable goods, they often need to avoid the delays from handling containers. If anyone remembers Norbert Dentresangle, an iconic french transport company that got re-flagged a few years ago, you'd see their trucks streaming in and out of Dover and on UK motorways all the time.