Supermarket shelves emptying ... but what is to blame?
Recently, visiting the local supermarket has brought back flashes from the height of Covid in 2020. The emptying shelves and nationwide lack of toilet roll, although now not as pronounced or as toilet paper -focused, has led me to wonder what is behind this? It seems to be a lesser spoken about subject, however shelves are definitely emptier. Is this a fall-out effect from Covid, or could it be an early Brexit indication of issues to come?
Looking into this a little deeper it seems that the Road Haulage Association believe this to be a combination effect. There is a shortage of supermarket staff following job lay-offs over the last year and self-isolation after coming into contact with an infection case. This is coupled with a shortage of lorry drivers, estimated to be around 100,000 fewer than needed, as a direct effect of Brexit, meaning it is harder for people from other European countries to work in the UK. Many drivers also returned to their home countries during the pandemic and training of new drivers ground to a halt over the last year or so. The combination has resulted in some of our biggest supermarket chains, such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco, warning that they are now unable to keep their shelves fully stocked.
With so many different factors playing a part in this situation, do we think this is a long-term problem or simply a short-term effect of a rocky few months?
Looking into this a little deeper it seems that the Road Haulage Association believe this to be a combination effect. There is a shortage of supermarket staff following job lay-offs over the last year and self-isolation after coming into contact with an infection case. This is coupled with a shortage of lorry drivers, estimated to be around 100,000 fewer than needed, as a direct effect of Brexit, meaning it is harder for people from other European countries to work in the UK. Many drivers also returned to their home countries during the pandemic and training of new drivers ground to a halt over the last year or so. The combination has resulted in some of our biggest supermarket chains, such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco, warning that they are now unable to keep their shelves fully stocked.
With so many different factors playing a part in this situation, do we think this is a long-term problem or simply a short-term effect of a rocky few months?
