First gas stations close as BP and Esso ration fuel – CityAM : CityAM September 23, 2021 The first UK gas stations are closing as a chronic shortfall of qualified drivers causes petrol and diesel deliveries to dry up. BP and Esso owner ExxonMobil have announced that deliveries of petrol and diesel to forecourts across the UK will be reduced to ensure supplies do not run out. Suppliers say In a statement [...]
Tesco warns of panic buying as ’empty shelves will get ten times worse’ September 23, 2021 A shortfall of 800 drivers has prompted Tesco to warn about panic buying in the run up to Christmas if the nationwide HGV crisis is not addressed. The UK’s largest supermarket also called on the Government to temporarily make it easier to bring in workers from abroad to ease the issue. Andrew Woolfenden, Tesco’s UK [...]
Hop growers, breweries and Tesco team up for ‘fruitier’ IPA-style beers to counter US imports September 16, 2021 A Worcestershire hop grower has teamed up with a Derbyshire brewery and retailer Tesco on the first of a series of “all-British grown” IPA-style beers aimed at halting the charge of imported ingredients from America. Newland-based hop factor and merchant Charles Faram has been on a 10-year mission to modernise the flavour of British hops [...]
JD Sports first-half profit jumps after post-lockdown demand September 14, 2021 Sportswear retailer JD Sports Fashion has reported record earnings for the first half thanks to strong demand for sportswear. However, the company withheld its interim dividend and made the suggestion of a “larger full year dividend” instead. JD Sports said it had been limited by supply chain disruption, meaning it had struggled to meet demand [...]
Tesco launches zero-waste trials in stores September 13, 2021 Tesco has launched zero-waste shopping trials at ten stores where customers can buy goods in reusable packaging so they can be returned and used again, in partnership with Loop, a waste management company. Customers shopping in the ten Tesco stores, all in the east of England where the initiative is being tested, will be able to [...]
Food sector boss warns of permanent shortages in restaurants and shops September 10, 2021 Shoppers in the UK should expect permanent shortages of products now, according to a food and drink industry leader. The food and drink sector was short of around half a million workers, CEO of the Food & Drink Federation, Ian Wright, told the Institute for Government’s panel on supply chain disruption. The nation would not [...]
Morrisons revenue tops £9bn, painting picture of health for bidders September 9, 2021 Morrisons has topped a revenue of £9bn in the past six months, as the bidding battle over the supermarket giant escalates. The retailer enjoyed a revenue lift of 3.7 per cent, including its fuel earnings, in its interim results for the six months to 1 August, painting a picture of health for potential buyers. The [...]
Labour shortages make light work of fears of a post-Brexit unemployment surge – CityAM : CityAM September 1, 2021 In the two decades before the Brexit referendum, there was a large increase in the number of people moving from the EU to the UK. In the mid-1990s there were less than one million EU citizens living in the UK. By the mid-2010s, this had risen to 3.6 million. The bulk of the increase came [...]
Fix lorry driver shortage by hiring furloughed workers, Kwarteng says August 28, 2021 The business secretary has written to firms telling them to hire UK-based workers facing an “uncertain future” to solve the current lorry driver shortage. In a letter to business leaders, Kwasi Kwarteng rejected calls to loosen immigration rules to fix the problem, which is causing shortages of certain food products. Instead of turning to overseas [...]
Higher food prices loom due to gigantic pay rises for drivers as shortfall swells to 100,000 August 27, 2021 Shoppers could face long-term higher prices for food as result of systemic changes to the supply chain, supermarkets chiefs and hauliers warned today. Bosses at the Road Haulage Association said the “substantial” pay rises offered by firms in need of new drivers could force supermarket bosses to pass the costs on to customers. Hauliers have [...]