HGV has a driver shortage of 100,000 says Richard Burnett
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Experts warned that the lorry driver shortage was at “crisis point” after supermarket shelves were left bare of food products like salad bags and water bottles. Now up to a quarter of supermarket milk deliveries by the UK’s biggest dairy supplier have been unable to get through because of the shortage.
Ash Amirahmadi, managing director of Arla UK, which delivers milk to more than 2,000 shops everyday, explained that they are trying to avoid a shortage although some stores went without milk over the weekend.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think when you are not able to supply 10 percent of the stores which are expecting to get milk everyday, I think that’s quite worrying for a customer walking into a store and not being able to have milk – so we are taking it very seriously.
“We are trying to avoid a summer of disruption.”
He added: “We are experiencing the problem getting worse and that’s why our assessment is that we are in a driver shortage crisis, and therefore we are asking for the industry and Government to work together to recognise we are in a crisis and address the issue.”
The Road Haulage Association (RHA) has said the number of HGV drivers had reduced by 100,000 since the start of the pandemic.
It is also estimated that around 30,000 lorry driving tests did not take place last year due to the pandemic.
Brexit has also been blamed for several shortages.
Mr Amirahmadi told Sky News that unless “bold action” is taken, there could be “summer disruption going into the next couple of months”.
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Taking to Twitter to share their thoughts, customers shared their supermarket shopping experiences.
One person said: “Went to Asda and the only empty shelf was the milk shelf. I know there is a milk shortage due to drivers but there was literally nothing. Went to Sainsbury’s and found it no problem.”
Another wrote: “Don’t you just love it when you can’t buy milk anywhere because of the food shortage and lorry driver crisis?”
One person tweeted: “Is there also an oat milk shortage, can’t find the one I usually buy?”
Another said: “Our local Morrisons and Asda seem to be doing ok. Some things a bit thin on the shelves like water bottles, but not completely empty.
“One local Lidl apparently had no milk a couple of days ago though, but hopefully we will all be able to find it somewhere.”
Tesco has also confirmed it has been experiencing a shortage in bottled water due to a combination of factors, including production issues at the supermarket’s own brand supplier’s factory.
However, the supermarket giant has said that availability of bottled water continues to improve.
A spokesperson for Nestlé Waters added the company had experienced demand for its products beyond its expectations.
Customers have also noticed supermarkets like Sainsbury’s having no bottled water.
It isn’t only milk that could be in short supply this summer, with the meat industry warning that staff absences could mean there is a shortage in items like lamp chops and steaks.
Nick Allen, chief executive of the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) warned last month that some companies could be forced “to start shutting down production lines all together”.
The news came after thousands of people were “pinged” by the NHS Covid app to self-isolate, although the app is now being tweaked so fewer contacts will be advised to self-isolate.
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