UK light on festive trees

AS the HGV driver shortage continues to cause chaos for supply chains across the UK Christmas tree retailers have emerged as the latest industry to raise concerns ahead of the festive season.

It was previously reported that the UK could face a real Christmas tree shortage in the wake of these problems. Families may think they can avoid the issue by buying an artificial tree, but online home store Christow has warned that it may be easier said than done.

Josh Piercy told The Times that, despite ordering back in January, only 60% of the artificial trees Christow has ordered have been supplied so far due to production problems in a factory in Vietnam.

This, coupled with the shipping industry’s delays, congestion at Britain’s ports and the shortage of lorry drivers means there could be a significant shortage, though Mr Piercy said he was “hopeful we’ll be able to satisfy our customers.”