FILE – In this file photo from Monday, June 14, 2021, people sit at outdoor tables at a restaurant in Soho, London. The UK economy is no longer the worst performing Group of Seven economy after second quarter growth was revised up to reflect a larger than expected increase in consumer spending following the lifting of Lockdown restrictions announced by the Office for National Statistics on Thursday, September 30. , 2021.
FILE – In this file photo from September 30, 2021, drivers line up for fuel at a gas station in London. Job vacancies in the UK hit a record high of almost 1.2 million, official figures showed on Tuesday 12 October 2021, a further sign that the UK economy is facing labor shortages in a range of sectors due to the coronavirus pandemic and Britain’s exit from the European Union.
Thousands of shipping containers at the port of Felixstowe in south-east England on Wednesday, October 13, 2021. A deadlock at the UK’s busiest commercial port raised concerns on Wednesday that the country could experience a series of shortages during the crucial Christmas trading period, especially of toys and food.
Thousands of shipping containers at the port of Felixstowe in south-eastern England on Wednesday, October 13, 2021. A deadlock at the UK’s busiest commercial port raised concerns on Wednesday that the country could experience a series of shortages during the crucial Christmas trading period, especially of toys and food.
By PAN PYLAS Associated Press
LONDON (AP) – A standoff in the UK’s busiest commercial port on Wednesday raised concerns that the country could face shortages during the crucial Christmas holiday period, including of toys and food.
In recent weeks, concern has mounted that the UK’s economic recovery is being hampered by widespread shortages, which have been most clearly seen in long lines at petrol stations and in some empty shelves. supermarkets.
The disruption is clearly visible in the Port of Felixstowe in eastern England, the UK’s largest commercial port. A container bottleneck at the port, which handles 36% of UK freight container volumes, has been blamed on a shortage of drivers.
The build-up of cargo has prompted the Maersk shipping company to divert some of its larger ships from UK ports to others in Europe, where it uses smaller ships to make deliveries to the UK.
“With Felixstowe handling almost 40% of all containers to and from the UK, this adds even more imbalance to the UK supply chain, especially in the current peak consumer period that we are entering before Christmas, ”said Alex Hersham, managing director of London-based digital freight forwarding company Zencargo.
“It is essential that retailers and consumers prepare for a prolonged supply chain disruption and plan for what will be a Christmas heavily impacted by these issues,” he added.
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