The shortage of trailer drivers has lasted for more than half a year, which may affect the UK's Christmas and Black Friday shopping festivals

On July 28, according to foreign media reports, due to Brexit and the recurrence of the epidemic, a large number of European drivers left the UK. Currently, the UK logistics supply chain faces a shortage of up to 100,000 heavy-duty trailer ( HGV ) drivers.

According to industry leaders, the shortage of heavy-duty haul truck drivers in the UK will last for 6-12 months , and with Christmas and Black Friday just around the corner, it could seriously affect the normal shopping season. It should be noted that during last year's Black Friday shopping festival alone, the number of parcels in the UK surged and sales increased by more than a third.

At present, the epidemic has been recurring and the Delta variant virus has appeared in many places. Against this background, the UK still announced a full lifting of the lockdown on July 19.

It is reported that in the first week of unblocking alone, a UK epidemic testing and tracking app issued more than 600,000 alerts, forcing thousands of retail workers to be quarantined and many store shelves were about to run out.

The shortage of trailer drivers and the epidemic are intertwined, which is undoubtedly a further blow to the UK's logistics supply chain, and the shortage of the supply chain is likely to trigger a new round of panic buying among the masses.

Andrew Selley, chief executive of Bidfood UK , one of the UK's largest food wholesalers , said they had quarantined about 100 employees in 20 warehouses across the country, which had seriously affected customer deliveries.

It is reported that with the in-depth development of e-commerce, many retailers have begun to provide door-to-door delivery services in order to win the favor of consumers. This service has also been welcomed by more and more British families, and the number of door-to-door delivery orders has increased significantly . However, the shortage of retail workers and trailer drivers will pose huge logistics challenges to retailers.

In order to solve the increasingly serious supply chain problems, the British government said that it would extend the statutory working hours of trailer drivers and allow those who need to self-isolate to work. This statement was immediately opposed by trade unions and the general public . In addition, a Conservative MP even called for "deploying the army" to solve the shortage of heavy truck drivers.

U.K.

Shopping

logistics