No I’m being serious. The shortages are everywhere - America is being hit too.
I think Brexit may have some impact and cause shortages in the future, but I don’t think it’s fair for people to blame Brexit right now.
It just weakens the argument to blame Brexit for absolutely everything - it’s important to get the facts correct so we can see the **** show for what it is
So you don’t think losing 1000s of HGV drivers, having returned to their own countries, is the major factor?
As I understand it, most EU hauliers pay their drivers by the kilometre driven, not the hours worked. With so many delays at the border, CAUSED BY BREXIT, many EU drivers now refuse to cross the channel because all the time they are sat idle, waiting for paperwork clearance, they aren’t getting paid.
What, before Brexit, might have been a 4 day round trip of, for example, 600 kilometres with no hold ups, can now become a 6 day trip BECAUSE of Brexit paperwork, induced holdups. The same distance, but a significant increase in hours taken for the journey, reduces their hourly rate of pay and opportunities to take on other runs.
So, if drivers are refusing to cross the channel, hauliers this side have to take up the shortfall, which they are struggling to do because many of the drivers they previously employed have left the country.
Plus, of course, there is the “just in time” delivery status that so many companies worked to, when there were no border delays. Deliveries were like clockwork, with fresh supplies for all industries arriving at regular times.
That no longer happens and a further inconvenience to many businesses is that because they could rely on regular deliveries, pre-Brexit, they didn’t need large premises with areas to store excess, back up stock, which means that delays to deliveries now create empty shelves, in shops, or stop production lines in other industries.
Covid will be playing a part in the delays, but the major factor, IMO, is Brexit increasing the shortages of HGV drivers.