Following Brexit and the Covid Pandemic, the UK has been seriously hit by an acute driver shortage in the past 6 months, which led to a surge in prices for transport across all sectors.

Unfortunately, the situation has not significantly improved and we’re expecting a tight market until the end of the year and especially Christmas when e-commerce companies and supermarkets start hiring staff for their operations with competitive rates and signing bonuses. Retaining transport and warehouse staff is an ongoing challenge as there is so much competition on the market for skilled and unskilled workers.

Although the industry has called upon the government to address the issue with the utmost urgency, there hasn’t been much movement on the easing of visa restrictions for drivers and warehouse workers. Instead, the government is working on speeding up qualifications for HGV drivers but we’re hearing that some drivers can only get appointments in early December of even January 2022. Even if the government decide to ease visa restriction we don’t expect much improvement in 2021.

What action has MOL taken?

• Pre-planning transport week/s in advance where possible to prevent cargo delays 
• Increased transport options by using hauliers MOL have not previously worked with
• Increased payments to partners to secure services where possible