Talking Retail Grocery and product news for independent retailers
With pressure at the pumps growing by the day, there were reports today that the government is considering calling in the army to supply forecourts.
It has already suspended competition law to make it easier for oil companies to supply petrol stations.
Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability policy at the British Retail Consortium said the government’s decision to issue 5,000 short-term visas for foreign HGV drivers announced at the weekend “would do little to alleviate the current shortfall”.
He said the numbers were “too small” to make an impact on the disruption which has hit forecourts in recent days.
“Five thousand drivers will help and that will make some difference but we needed so much more than that.”
He called for short-term visas to be extended to all sectors of the retail industry to deal with the current problems and ensure supplies can be maintained in the lead-up to Christmas.
“Supermarkets have estimated they need at least 15,000 HGV drivers for their businesses to be able to operate at full capacity ahead of Christmas and avoid disruption or availability issues.”
Brian Madderson, chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association, said: “Measures introduced by the government this weekend are not ultra short-term.
“We might see the benefits of them later in the autumn as drivers come across and start to work.
“In the very short-term, this panic buying has caused really serious problems.”
He said that between 50%-90% of its members operating some 5,000 forecourts had reported they were running dry and “those that aren’t are partly dry and running out soon”.
Madderson added that there was plenty of fuel in the country but “it is in the wrong place for the moment – in terminals and refineries”.
A spokesman for the Federation of Wholesale Distributors (FWD) said today: “Five thousand extra HGV drivers for three months won’t have much impact on wholesalers’ supply difficulties.
“It might keep supermarkets’ empty shelves and closed forecourts out of the headlines, but it’s too small a number to relieve the stress on the entire food supply chain and those drivers who do come to the UK will go to work for the highest bidders.
“The fuel shortage is causing temporary disruption this week. Wholesalers with fuel tanks on site report that they are receiving deliveries, but not always on time.
“For smaller operators which rely on forecourts, the challenge is the time involved in finding and queuing for fuel.
“We are also hearing of knock-on effects, such as depot workers being unable to get to work, and van drivers being delayed by congestion as the queues for fuel are blocking roads in town centres.”
The government is also planning to issue short-term visas for 5,500 poultry workers which will allow people from overseas to take up employment in the UK until Christmas Eve.
The Department of Transport said it planned to train 4,000 more lorry drivers through a £10m investment in training initiatives.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps said the short-term visas, which will be available from October, “would ensure preparations remain on track for the festive season”.
In other developments, a major forecourt operator has started rationing fuel sales to motorists and another supplier, Costco, has warned of stock shortages.
EG Group, which has 341 forecourts across the UK, has imposed a £30 cap on fuel purchases to try and prevent it running out of petrol and diesel as lorry driver shortages continue to hit supplies to forecourts.
HGV drivers and emergency service vehicles are not covered by the spending limit.
The company said it had taken action to ensure all its customers “have a fair chance to refuel”.
EG is the first major forecourt operator to impose new limits on fuel purchases but others may follow its example as a growing number of outlets face shortages.
BP said at the weekend that around 20 of its 1,200 forecourts were closed due to a lack of fuel with between 50-100 hit by the loss of at least one grade of fuel.
A small number of Tesco forecourts had also been hit by supply problems, according to owner ExxonMobil.
Costco, which operates 29 outlets in the UK, says it is facing product shortages and delays due to global supply chain problems.
The membership only retailer has imposed buying limits on certain items, including toilet paper, bottled water and some cleaning products, to prevent customers stockpiling products and says it is also struggling with deliveries.
The UK is estimated to need an extra 90,000 lorry drivers to ensure that fuel and grocery supplies can continue to be delivered and there have been a series of warnings from retailers and suppliers about the threat of shortages at Christmas.
