DON’T BE CAUGHT SHORT
Shoppers may struggle to get some items
FAMILIES are being warned to stock up on Christmas presents early amid fears some products might not arrive until the spring.
Experts say supplies of toys and gifts will be “materially constrained” this year, with one predicting Black Friday and January sales will be muted.
Gary Grant, boss of toy chain The Entertainer, said last night it had up to £2million in stock sitting in 30 containers at the port of Felixstowe, Suffolk, racking up daily storage charges.
Among the possible nationwide shortages are Elf on the Shelf toys, with one million still in China.
Households are booking Christmas food deliveries amid concerns some items could be in short supply.
Apple became the latest firm to be hit. Reports said the US firm may have to slash production of its latest iPhone 13 by up to 10million this year because of a global shortage of computer chips.
Online supermarket Ocado said yesterday delivery slots were “selling quickly”. It has increased its delivery charge in the run-up to Christmas “so we can hire extra staff ”.
Supplies of products have been hit by bottlenecks at ports due in part to a lack of HGV drivers.
Some container ships destined for Felixstowe, which handles 36 per cent of the UK’s container freight, have been diverted abroad.
The Government was yesterday accused of “incompetence” after a minister revealed that only about 20 foreign lorry drivers had been granted temporary visas to work in the UK.
Officials last month announced they would issue 5000 temporary visas to HGV drivers.
But Tory party chairman Oliver Dowden said the numbers of drivers applying were “relatively limited”, with about 300 applications received and about 20 issued.
Dowden yesterday insisted pressure on ports was easing, adding: “I’m confident people will be able to get their toys for Christmas.”
Tim Morris, chief executive of the UK Major Ports Group, said: “There’s no need to panic.”
But some households are not leaving things to chance with 10 weeks to Christmas.
Analyst Clive Black, of Shore Capital, said: “If there are things people feel they need to get this Christmas, whether that be gifts or otherwise, they should absolutely be getting them now.
“It’s not that there won’t be stuff to buy, it will be about choice and availability. It will be materially constrained.”
He predicted that Black Friday and the January sales would be “much less exciting” in terms of savings because retailers “are just not sitting on the stock they normally would be”.
David Jinks, head of research at home delivery experts ParcelHero, said: “Covid-19 and the boom in e-commerce had a huge impact on Christmas last year but those difficulties look like child’s play compared to this year’s potential problems.
“There’s little prospect that we will get the 100,000 extra truck drivers most experts believe we need. That means port delays will only escalate as more container ships loaded with Christmas stock try to berth.”
Meanwhile, the boss of the UK’s biggest poultry firm has warned prices will jump by more than 10 per cent.
Ranjit Boparan, founder of 2 Sisters Food Group, said: “The days when you could feed a family of four with a £3 chicken are coming to an end. Food is too cheap. How can it be right that a whole chicken costs less than a pint of beer?”