The UK is slowly getting over one long-term crisis and now the country finds itself having to deal with another possible ongoing problem, shortages. These shortages range from food, toys, electrical goods, cars, fuel, and other important resources the country relies on, especially with the festive season fast approaching.
Below is a list of the main shortages and an explanation as to why.
Toys and tech goods
It seems like the perfect storm when it comes to high-tech goods and toys, especially those being imported from China. The problem lies with the current chip shortage which is impacting most tech goods, like the PS5 and the Xbox Series X. On top of that, most imports are sent via container ships, but due to the world economic slowdown, there’s been a shortage of containers in Asia. This all has had a knock-on effect on shipping costs, which have rapidly spiraled tenfold. If you are lucky enough to locate a container, the shipping time to get it to the UK has doubled, meaning less time to get stocks on the shelves before the start of the festive season.
Some major retailers are actually sourcing their own ships. John Lewis has recently announced they are chartering a fleet of cargo ships, in order to get their peak season stocks in the shops before the Christmas shopping season.
Christmas turkeys and trees
Another industry that has been deeply affected by Brexit is the poultry industry. Due to a vast shortage of labour from the EU in this sector, there’s a shortfall of around 7,000 jobs. The vacancies are currently in the process of being filled but the severe delays due to visas will mean the farmers may struggle to meet demand.
And the bad news is, Brexit has also greatly affected the Christmas trees’ import supplies. The UK relies heavily on around 3 million real trees from the EU, and due to new rules and laws, supplies have been impacted and causing havoc, resulting in not only a shortage of Christmas trees but possible price increases.
Chocolate, confectionery, and milk
Yes, you’re probably getting bored of reading the same reasons as above but yet again Brexit has done it again and created a shortfall of HGV drivers who are normally recruited from Europe. So major supermarkets and shops are not getting their products as regularly as they did before Brexit. There are even stories of dairy farmers having to dump milk stocks because no lorry drivers have been available to do the pickups. So you’d best shop for confectionery in November before the rush begins.
Cars and fuel
Now there’s a worldwide shortage of brand new cars. This is mainly due to the microchip shortage which is a major requirement for all newly registered cars. Cars now are virtual computers on wheels, the technology that goes into each vehicle is immense and most, if not all cars are reliant on processors, powered by high-demand microchips.
The worldwide pandemic was the major factor causing this shortage. Factories worldwide had to close down, creating massive backlogs in car and component productions. The likelihood is, that normal supplies and production won’t be back on track until at least 2022 or even as late as the early part of 2023, as quoted by the boss of Daimler and Mercedes-Benz, Ola Källenius.
One of the few beneficiaries of the shortage of new cars in the UK is the used car dealers, such as Best Price Car Sales which are based in Southampton. The shortage of new cars has greatly increased the demand for used cars in the UK. We have used the opportunity to highlight our online, click-and-collect service. By investing heavily in our infrastructure and nationwide setup, we’re able to deliver our customers’ used cars anywhere in the UK within three days, in most cases, we are able to offer a same-day delivery service if you are located within 100 miles of our delivery units.
All of Best Price Car Sales used cars, come with a full warranty, HPI check, and will come with a valid MOT. Not only that, we offer an over-the-phone part-exchange service, and can even look into paying the outstanding car finance on your old car too. As a licenced credit brokers, we have access to the UK’s top car lenders who will consider most cases when it comes to offering competitive car finance rates.
To learn more about our current deals and offers on our huge range of used cars, call us now at 02380 549 222 or click here to apply for instant car finance products.