Army On Standby To Assist Driver Shortage

According to many news reports, the army has 2,000 drivers on standby to assist with the current driver shortage.

While no formal request has been made public, around 2,000 LGV drivers from the Royal Logistic Corps, amongst others, are understood to be on five-day notice to help distribute food and other essential supplies, including medicine.

Many supermarkets have been left with low stocks due to a lack of drivers. However, at least one haulage association believe the steps will not ‘scratch the surface’ of the current problems.

Richard Burnett, head of the RHA (Road Haulage Association), suggested to Sky News, that even the military could do little to alleviate the scale of the industry’s immediate challenges.

The RHA believes that the actual shortfall of drivers is near to 100,000. The body has been lobbying government to address the issue, including a request to relax Brexit immigration rules to allow foreign national drivers to return on a temporary basis.

Food and essential supplies should clearly be the priority, but there is little evidence of a plan to assist the container transport industry, which is currently in crisis due to a lack of drivers.

As ever, Atlantic Pacific continue to work diligently to mitigate supply chain disruption during these extremely difficult times. Should you require further information on the above, then please do not hesitate to contact us.