Lack of drivers forces BP to close gas stations in U.K.

Shortage has left supermarkets unable to fill shelves as crunch in energy threatens to hike bills

BP Plc said it has been forced to close some of its U.K. refuelling stations because a shortage of truck drivers is disrupting deliveries.

The decision it the latest symptom of a worsening supply-chain crisis that threatens to derail the country’s postCOVID economic recovery. The shortage of delivery drivers has already left supermarkets around the U.K. unable to fill their shelves. The country is also suffering from a gas and power supply crunch that’s putting companies out of business and threatening consumers with a big increase in bills.

“We are experiencing some fuel supply issues at some of our retail sites in the U.K. and unfortunately have therefore seen a handful of sites temporarily close due to a lack of both unleaded and diesel grades,” BP said in an emailed statement.

“We continue to work with our haulier supplier to minimize any future disruption and to ensure efficient and effective deliveries to serve our customers.” ITV News was first to report the move. The shortage of drivers and other workers hamstrung the U.K. food industry earlier this year, with stores running low on basics like milk and bread, tens of thousands of extra pigs piling up on farms and retailers warning that there will be shortages of some products at Christmas.

The country’s gas and power crisis has an entirely separate set of causes. Low levels of wind power generation, depleted gas storage and restricted supplies from Russia have sent prices soaring, putting out of business companies that supplied around 1.5 million households.

Yet, in a sign of the complex supply chains that underpin the U.K. economy, the energy crisis has also ended up hammering the food industry.

High gas prices last week forced fertilizer maker CF Industries Holding Inc. to close two plants that make carbon dioxide as a byproduct. That posed an imminent threat to the food industry, which uses the gas to stun pigs and chickens for slaughter, as well as in packaging to extend shelf life and the “dry ice” that keeps items frozen during delivery.