CARGO SHIPS DIVERTED FROM UK PORT AMID LORRY DRIVER SHORTAGE
▶ Shipping companies urge the public to start their Christmas shopping early as supply-chain problems continue
Shipping chiefs expect the disruption to the UK supply chain to continue into next year after a shortage of lorry drivers caused a bottleneck at ports and forced cargo companies to divert goods.
Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping company, has rerouted vessels from Felixstowe, the biggest container port in the UK, after it took up to seven days for cargo to be offloaded.
The backlog has been caused by a lack of drivers for the heavy goods vehicles used to take imported items from the port, which handles 36 per cent of UK freight.
Other ports across the UK are also affected by bottlenecks, prompting warnings for shoppers.
Last month, a shortage of HGV drivers led to a fuel crisis in the country, with motorists forced to wait in queues for hours to fill their tanks as companies rationed deliveries of petrol and diesel.
John Grange, director of Grange Shipping in Felixstowe, told The National that the lack of HGV drivers was exacerbating problems that had existed for months.
The company employs 29 logistics workers to clear cargo through the port and book drivers to take the goods away.
Mr Grange said employees now had to rebook transport several times because there were not enough lorries available to pick up the cargo.
That has led to additional storage costs as containers lie untouched for days.
“The containers are very late being picked up. Most of the people here are rebooking drivers for the sixth or seventh time,” Mr Grange said.
“It means customers do not get it for seven to 10 days.
“It started last year with the pandemic when people were put on furlough. It got considerably worse due to a shortage of drivers.”
He said the driver shortage had been affecting his company and others for months, but it escalated “when people ran out of Haribo sweets”.
Last month, panic buying at the pumps was sparked by BP’s decision to ration fuel deliveries to petrol stations because it did not have enough drivers.
A Maersk spokeswoman said its ships, each carrying thousands of containers, were being redirected to European ports such as Rotterdam and Antwerp.
Cargo would then be loaded on to smaller vessels to dock at other British ports, or at Felixstowe when space becomes available.
The company is committed to delivering goods to the UK for “Black Friday” next month and Christmas, she said.
Lars Mikael Jensen, head of the global ocean network at Maersk, said the shortage of qualified HGV drivers slowed down the process of unloading and picking up containers at Felixstowe.
“We had to stop operations on a ship because there was nowhere to discharge the containers,” he said.
“Felixstowe is among the top two or three worst-hit terminals. We are having to deviate some of the bigger ships away from Felixstowe and relay some of the smaller ships for the cargo.
“We did it for a little while over the summer and now we’re starting to do it again.”
Howard Eve, logistics worker at British company Waller Transport Services, said it had been approached by many people unable to move stock from the port owing to a shortage of drivers.
The group uses subcontractors and has so far been able to help all companies get their goods delivered in a timely manner, he said.
“A lot of companies cannot get drivers to employ but we have a database of subcontractors,” he said.
“When people cannot get to a driver they come to us and we source drivers.
“It’s not getting any better; it’s getting worse because of a shortage of drivers.”
Adam Searle, managing director of CP Transport, which operates 45 lorries out of Felixstowe, said the shortages were a nightmare for the shipping industry.
He said it would make the final rush towards Christmas more problematic.
Last month, retail company John Lewis said it chartered extra ships to ensure goods were delivered in time for the festive season.
“In common with other major ports in the UK and beyond, the port of Felixstowe is experiencing impacts of the global supply chain crisis,” a spokesman for the port said.
“The vast majority of import containers are cleared for collection within minutes of arriving and there are over 1,000 unused haulier bookings most days. The situation is improving and there is more spare space for import containers this week than at any time since the beginning of July, when supply chain impacts first started to bite.
“Empty container levels remain high as import containers are returned and we are asking shipping lines to remove them as quickly as possible.”
Tim Morris, chief executive of UK Major Ports Group, said trade ports had become “the jam in the sandwich between surging, volatile shipping and UK supply chains” badly affected by factors such as a lack of HGV drivers.
“Ports have taken significant action to respond to the challenges and build resilience.” he said.
“They have extended gate opening to 24/7, increased capacity for lorries at peak hours, sought to maximise rail freight usage within the significant constraints of the network, created additional storage space and recruited more people.
“But the pressures are being exacerbated by well-publicised issues affecting all UK supply chains, notably shortages of HGV drivers.
“Ports therefore have to manage access to storage space very dynamically in extreme situations. This can mean some very limited short-term restrictions.
“Ports are committed to working closely with customers and entire supply chains to keep goods moving.”
Peter Wilson, group managing director at shipping company Cory Brothers, gave a warning that the disruption to the supply chain could continue for months.
Speaking on BBC Radio Four’s Today programme yesterday, Mr Wilson said the “significant delays” blighting ports across the UK could potentially continue “well into next year”.
People preparing to celebrate Christmas should plan to start shopping early this year to avoid disappointment, he said.
“What I would say to the consumer is: be sensible, think ahead, plan appropriately and order your Christmas goods and the items that you need in a timely fashion to ensure that you have them,” he said.
“I think that we will see things being delivered. There is a potential nearer to Christmas to see some items maybe not being available on the shelves.”
The UK supply chain “will not fail”, he said.
Most toys imported into the UK pass through Felixstowe because they are non-perishable items.
It is cheaper to ship them, compared with transporting them by air.
Containers holding electronics, bikes and homeware items have been affected by the backlog at the port.
But Oliver Dowden, co-chairman of the UK’s ruling Conservative Party, said the government was “getting on with the job of addressing” the problems at ports by trying to fill the gaps in the market for HGV drivers.
He said a visa initiative had been introduced to allow 5,000 lorry drivers to come to Britain to work and emphasised measures aimed at making it easier for UK citizens to qualify as lorry drivers.
He said the lack of drivers was “clearly a challenging problem” at UK ports, but that the US, China and some European countries were also affected by the shortage.
The UK has increased the wages of lorry drivers to help tackle the problem, he said.
“It’s all about this wider point, which is we need to get the skills here, have those higher paid jobs and actually the latest news about increases in wages is a real example of how that strategy is working,” he told Sky News.
“The situation is improving. I am confident that people will be able to get their toys for Christmas.”
He urged shoppers to “buy as you do normally” in the run-up to the festive season.
Doug Bannister, chief executive of the Port of Dover, said there was “no congestion” at the site.
People can count on the port functioning as normal because the ships are always moving, he said.
Asked by Times Radio whether the public should expect to face empty shelves at shops in the run up to Christmas, he said he was optimistic that goods would continue to pass through ports across the UK.
He said major ports such as Felixstowe, London Gateway and Southampton “are providing a lot of the goods that people want to have around Christmas time”.
European goods should be on shop shelves in time for Christmas, he said.
“So I don’t feel particularly grumpy, knowing our business,” he said.
“But I do wonder about whether my wife needs to buy some early Christmas presents for the kids.”
Felixstowe is among the top worst-hit terminals ... we are having to deviate some of the bigger ships away from the port
LARS MIKAEL JENSEN
Maersk