Are lorry drivers (or lack of) having an effect on any of your regular supplies?

[Dan]

HGV driver shortage: UK firms embark on the long road to plug the gap

Logistics sector ups its recruitment and training effort but big obstacles lie ahead

www.theguardian.com

Food, beer, toys, medical kit. Why is Britain running out of everything?

Poor pay and conditions for HGV drivers and the loss of many thousands of EU workers are plunging the UKs supply chain into crisis

www.theguardian.com

Minister urges firms to invest in UK-based workers in HGV driver shortage

Business secretary reported as saying foreign labour only offers ‘temporary solution’ as companies face supply chain crisis

www.theguardian.com

I keep reading news, hearing on radio and seeing on telly that the lack of lorry drivers is having more and more of an impact on our daily lives and wont stop any time soon. I was wondering if any of you guys and gals have felt this with suppliers running out of anything you use regularly?

Heard anything through the grapevine?

Started to stock up on basic things you use often to help get around this over Christmas etc?

 

[SJD]

I continue to keep a modest stockpile of consumer units (one each of most common sizes I use) and typical RCBOs to populate them, due to supply difficulties last year.

 

[sparkie141]

HGV driver shortage: UK firms embark on the long road to plug the gap

Logistics sector ups its recruitment and training effort but big obstacles lie ahead

www.theguardian.com

Food, beer, toys, medical kit. Why is Britain running out of everything?

Poor pay and conditions for HGV drivers and the loss of many thousands of EU workers are plunging the UKs supply chain into crisis

www.theguardian.com

Minister urges firms to invest in UK-based workers in HGV driver shortage

Business secretary reported as saying foreign labour only offers ‘temporary solution’ as companies face supply chain crisis

www.theguardian.com

I keep reading news, hearing on radio and seeing on telly that the lack of lorry drivers is having more and more of an impact on our daily lives and wont stop any time soon. I was wondering if any of you guys and gals have felt this with suppliers running out of anything you use regularly?

Heard anything through the grapevine?

Started to stock up on basic things you use often to help get around this over Christmas etc?

I can say with all honesty that where I live we have NO shortages in any supermarkets or in the construction materials sector.
However, the story is very different when I speak to friends and family living in the Scottish Highlands. There have been difficulties obtaining certain building materials there since months. When I was there in early July all my family and friends were talking about this. At that point there were not too many gaps in the supermarket shelves. Now according to family the situation is very different. I understand that at one point last week the local Asda had many gaps in the shelves.
I would point out that I live in Spain. So the big difference is Brexit or rather the form of Brexit enacted by the current UK government.
Here in Spain if there are shortages of skilled truck drivers they can recruit more from 26 other countries without complicated visa procedures etc. Indeed it is very common to see trucks with several different countries number plates on the motorway.

 

[ColinACJL]

HGV driver shortage: UK firms embark on the long road to plug the gap

Logistics sector ups its recruitment and training effort but big obstacles lie ahead

www.theguardian.com

Food, beer, toys, medical kit. Why is Britain running out of everything?

Poor pay and conditions for HGV drivers and the loss of many thousands of EU workers are plunging the UKs supply chain into crisis

www.theguardian.com

Minister urges firms to invest in UK-based workers in HGV driver shortage

Business secretary reported as saying foreign labour only offers ‘temporary solution’ as companies face supply chain crisis

www.theguardian.com

I keep reading news, hearing on radio and seeing on telly that the lack of lorry drivers is having more and more of an impact on our daily lives and wont stop any time soon. I was wondering if any of you guys and gals have felt this with suppliers running out of anything you use regularly?

Heard anything through the grapevine?

Started to stock up on basic things you use often to help get around this over Christmas etc?

The cordless lawnmower I was trying to purchase from Screwfix is out of stock due to Brexit.

 

[Donkeybrains]

I can say with all honesty that where I live we have NO shortages in any supermarkets or in the construction materials sector.
However, the story is very different when I speak to friends and family living in the Scottish Highlands. There have been difficulties obtaining certain building materials there since months. When I was there in early July all my family and friends were talking about this. At that point there were not too many gaps in the supermarket shelves. Now according to family the situation is very different. I understand that at one point last week the local Asda had many gaps in the shelves.
I would point out that I live in Spain. So the big difference is Brexit or rather the form of Brexit enacted by the current UK government.
Here in Spain if there are shortages of skilled truck drivers they can recruit more from 26 other countries without complicated visa procedures etc. Indeed it is very common to see trucks with several different countries number plates on the motorway.

There in Spain you have front companies in Eastern Europe employing Eastern European drivers. These drivers then operate full time in the richer Western countries, while being paid Eastern Europe wages. Well in the UK now we have left your common market, the slave employers have been caught out. So yes you can get people from 26 countries, rather like Rome did with its slaves.

And no there is no huge shortage in the UK.

 

[Donkeybrains]

The cordless lawnmower I was trying to purchase from Screwfix is out of stock due to Brexit.

Its made in China, Brexit was related to the EU.

 

[Walter Mitty]

I would point out that I live in Spain. So the big difference is Brexit or rather the form of Brexit enacted by the current UK government.

I would point out the difficulties faced by UK businesses due to the intransigent nature of officials in France and Germany (first and foremost) closely followed by the rest of Europe. It is just pure spite.

Covid and Brexit combined have created a perfect storm. I import a small amount of goods from the US and what used to take 5 to 8 days is now three or four weeks, this cannot be blamed on Brexit, it is a global phenomenon.

Previously a container from China of "any" goods was 2500 to 3000 US dollars, right now it is $22,000 and cheaper for some of the goods to be air freighted in. This is what I am finding anyway. Then it gets stuck at the Port or Terminal waiting for "transport" and that could be anything from a lorry to a van.

 

[Deleted account]

No shortages that I can see down in south Devon. Only shortages I have seen are plaster and plasterboard, but the stocks seem to be flowing again.

also possibly shortage of drivers for refuse collection. Not sure if the is is due to brexit or covid isolation or a combination of both.

 

[UNG]

While there "may" be a shortage of lorry drivers this was created by the employers and also the 2007 EU driver CPC directive and IMO is very little to do with brexit. I know a lot of people who have a class 1 licence who have left the industry and won't go back, when there was fewer loads than drivers the employers drove the rate down to as little as £6.50/Hr now they are paying in some cases in excess of £20/Hr and can't tempt drivers back into the industry, for the last 5 - 10 years if you need a load moving that needs an ADR qualified drier it can take days to find one the reason for this is the employers who in time of plenty pushed the rate down to an extra 10p/Hr while the load was on the truck and expected the drivers to pay for the extra qualification and take time off to do the course, one driver I spoke to a number of years ago reckoned the ADR earned him an extra £40/year after the course and time costs

As mentioned in a previous post global shipping is the biggest issue, one of my customers works in shipping and described waking up to the news that the Evergiven was wedged across the Suez canal as a nightmare that will have a knock on effect for many months if not a few years because it put so many ships out of position and missing their port slots. Add in to that the lack of empty containers in the far east because very few empties have been shipped back there is also creating problems
As we come out of the large effects of the pandemic some shipping routes have become become more lucrative to the shipping companies and so they have shifted some fleet assets to those routes that are making the most money

Given that some of the "EU trade" we had was shipping containers destined for the UK but offloaded in Rotterdam to the UK by road, I would like to think that they are shipped directly into the UK now to avoid the draconian EU procedures

It will take many years to get away from the Brexit excuse because to many it is so easy to use, any problems blame Brexit, although since Brexit governments within the EU and the UK government itself are getting very creative with import taxes

Can't say I've seen any shortages although I have seen limits placed on some items. One store I was in at the weekend had a limit of 20 bags of cement but from what I've read that is more down to HS2 than Brexit as HS2 will take something like 3/4 of the production of one cement plant in the midlands for the next 3 years

No news is news if you can't blame Brexit for something

 

[Scotz74]

I used to work in Highways and regularly joined police patrols in Kent. 90% of the lorry drivers we pulled over or were in lay-bys were EU ones with EU drivers from EU countries. It's incredible to say that losing that source of cheap labour is not causing supply issues, let alone the paperwork and customs costs. Yes most electrical supplies are made and manufactured in the far east and don't come from Europe, the cost of shipping containers world wide is high and yes Covid sickness and changes in demand has had a big effect but when our income is falling becuase we've lost virtually half our export market, costs of importing from US/Asia will increase too due to a weaker currency. I'm afraid its inescapable the impact Brexit will have

 

[Baddegg]

I’ve spoken to someone before who reckon if his vehicle wasn’t moving he didn’t get paid, ie 2 hour traffic jam = no pay for 2 hours….so as above this whole situation has been caused by greedy employers who drive down wages and conditions because there was always an Eastern European who would not complain! It’s now bitten em on the arse royally ?

 

[mattg4321]

What do you mean weaker currency? The pound is up against the dollar over the latest 5 year period.

Unless you mean higher costs from years ago??

 

[mattg4321]

I’ve spoken to someone before who reckon if his vehicle wasn’t moving he didn’t get paid, ie 2 hour traffic jam = no pay for 2 hours….so as above this whole situation has been caused by greedy employers who drive down wages and conditions because there was always an Eastern European who would not complain! It’s now bitten em on the arse royally ?

This is 100% the reason.

Big businesses bleating they want the return of cheap easily exploitable Labour. They don’t like having to pay a proper wage.

Funny how we were told by project fear that a leave vote would hit the lower paid hardest. That prediction has gone the same way as the others - such as immediate recession, house price crash etc etc. Bottom line is the big boys want cheap Labour and brexit makes that harder.

We were also told that mass immigration from Eastern Europe post 2004 had no effect on wages in this country. Utter bo@&&£&s as has now been proven.

 

[Leesparkykent]

I’m building 24 houses and have had no end of issues due to shortages. Over the period I’ve had issues with cement, plasterboard, bricks, timber and even PVC tile trim. I’ve managed the whole situation and top of that we’ve seen dramatic price increases on many materials. It hasn’t caused me loads of delays but it’s probably been a 100% rise in the actual time it’s taken to source materials for the right money.

 

[mattg4321]

There’s no doubt there are shortages of all sorts of things currently. Coupled with price rises. This isn’t really due to brexit though.

There are materials and HGV driver shortages along with price rises throughout Europe if not the world. Loads of news articles on this. It’s mostly covid related.