Loss of 100,000 hauliers due to Covid and Brexit will cause food ‘rolling power cuts’, experts warn

Driver shortages remain the single biggest crisis in the haulage industry in the wake of Brexit, with a shortfall of nearly 70,000, according to courier firm Speedy Freight – which also cites the ongoing impact of red tape.

The food industry is predicting a nightmare for British customers, with price rises and empty shelves caused by Brexit.

More food items are likely to disappear from supermarket shelves as companies struggle to fill roles after lockdown.

A Somerset cheese factory has said it is facing a staff shortage it believes is due to Brexit.

Gaps are starting to appear on supermarket shelves because of a “desperate shortage” of lorry drivers – a problem that will likely lead stores to raise food prices.

Calls to bring in the army to help ease the UK’s worsening driver shortage have been rebuffed by industry associations seeking “long-term sustainable solutions”.

The Road Haulage Association says the UK has lost 15,000 drivers since Brexit and that this will lead to a lack of deliveries of everyday products to supermarket shelves by the autumn. / “Despite what those politicians backing Brexit told us, the UK’s exit from the EU is going to cost everyone in the UK more in their shopping basket.”

Almost a third of U.K. logistics companies expect to face trucker shortages this year, and a 10th say recruitment issues will pose an “extreme barrier” to the recovery of their business from the pandemic.

It’s one of the labour shortfalls that has emerged partly because of border friction following Brexit.

January has seen Brexit set in motion for real — but for many businesses, operations have ground to a standstill as they struggle to shift goods across new borders.

Hauliers carrying goods to Europe have warned they face more damaging restrictions as the latest figures show exports dropped by two-fifths in January as the Brexit transition period came to an end.

More than a quarter of the trucks crossing into the EU from the UK are travelling empty, as Brexit eats into UK export figures.

MICHAEL Gove has been accused of wilfully ignoring the facts in an effort to avoid accountability for the “long-term damage” caused by Brexit.

The Road Haulage Association has criticised Michael Gove for his lack of assistance.

Cabinet Office used ‘unverifiable data’ to rebut a Road Haulage Association survey showing export volumes dropped by 68%

Brexit has caused hauliers to become "their own customs agents" due to shortages, MSPs have been told.

DESPITE promises of sunny uplands, no Scottish companies which export to Europe have benefited from Brexit, according to industry chiefs.

The way UK Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove has been handling exports to the European Union (EU) since the Brexit transition period ended has attracted a new wave of criticism. The volume of exports made through British ports to the EU reportedly fell by 68 per cent in January compared to the same month last year, and that drop has been largely attributed to problems caused by Brexit.

MD of policy at the Road Haulage Association, Rod McKenzie, defends its survey of members suggesting major Brexit trade woes.

One of the stand out themes of the pre-referendum messaging was the idea that the UK would be able to trade more easily with non-EU countries, while having no loss of access to the EU. This doesn’t appear to be the case though.

Exports to the EU have plummeted by 68% since Brexit

Exports to the EU plunged massively last month compared with January 2020.

Truckers are trying to avoid the U.K. as Brexit red tape keeps them waiting to get to the continent.