The Perils Of Multinational Chains...

Co-op boss Steve Murrells has worked in the retail sector for decades, so when he says shortages are 'at a worse level than any time I have seen', he has to be taken seriously.

But bare shelves at his supermarkets are not the only sign that something's up. McDonald's stopped serving milkshakes and bottled drinks this week after becoming the latest victim of a nationwide shortage of delivery drivers. Chicken chain Nando's shut 50 outlets last week after its suppliers struggled to deliver enough peri-peri wings. And at Marks & Spencer stores, signs were put up warning customers that some bakeries have run out of fresh pastries due to 'delivery issues'.

These aren't 'shortages' as we normally understand them. 

The country's not running out of flour and eggs, and there hasn't been an outbreak of bird flu that has wiped out the supply of chicken, or another foot and mouth disease outbreak that has loosed DEFRA kill squads on our dairy herds...

But restaurant and fast food chains insist on control of supply. If Mrs Miggins running the corner shop cafe finds she's short of flour at the local cash and carry, she can nip to Tesco. The manager at the local McDonald's branch can't pop into Sainsbury and buy up all their milk, because he's not allowed to - McDonald's milkshakes can only be made with milk supplied by their own delivery service.

The haulage industry is labouring under a shortfall of around 100,000 truckers. The problem is so acute that the Government is considering increasing the maximum allowable length of an HGV by 6.5 ft.

So, is this the dreaded effects of Brexit that the Remainers warned about? No. It's government interference accompanied by market forces.  

Take the length of the average trucker's working week. HGV drivers are restricted to driving ten hours a day (up from nine pre-Covid), but factor in waiting times and they can be out of the house for 12-15 hours a day. The impact this has on family life has driven many younger drivers out, with the result that 62 per cent of the workforce is over 45.

But doesn't it pay well? 

Meanwhile, driver pay has slipped to the point that they get little more than supermarket shelf-stackers, partly due to the Government blocking a loophole that allowed them to operate as limited companies.To make matters worse, the number of drivers entering the industry for the first time has been badly hit by the Driver And Vehicle Standards Agency cancelling 'at least' 30,000 HGV driving tests last year due to Covid.

Oops!