Empty shelves in supermarkets as lorry chiefs beg for 100,000 more delivery drivers to ease delays

Transport bosses yesterday called for the Government to tackle the national truck driver shortage urgently amid fears of more empty supermarket shelves.

The Road Haulage Association said bringing in the Army would not be enough amid claims it had been put on standby to help.

Food supply chains have been placed under intense stress because of a shortage of around 100,000 HGV drivers.

Empty shelves at a Tesco Extra store in Burnley on Sunday

The longstanding crisis has been made worse because of the pingdemic and a lack of workers in food production. 

The Government last night said it had no intention of using military support and insisted the move had never been on the table. 

Ministers believe the industry is equipped to cope with the crisis itself.

It came after reports that hundreds of drivers from the Royal Logistic Corps had been placed on a five-day standby to supply essentials such as food and medicine. 

Government departments can make requests for military help through a special order.

But sources said the only current request was for Army drivers to help stretched ambulance services – which has been the case throughout the pandemic.

The RHA said the Government should do more to solve the problem, such as addressing visas for European drivers.

Fresh fruit was in short supply at this branch of Asda in Newcastle 

Rod McKenzie, of the RHA, said using the Army was ‘not a good idea’ but stressed the lorry driver shortage was ‘a very serious threat to the supply chain’.

He told The Sun on Sunday: ‘There are 2,000 qualified HGV drivers in the Army – we’re 100,000 lorry drivers short.

‘Another issue is Army drivers are used to driving Army lorries and not civilian vehicles. We need to address what to do to get another 100,000 drivers.’

Britain’s supermarket chains have responded to the shortage by offering drivers bonuses of up to £5,000 either to stay in the job or to attract new recruits. 

The crisis has been blamed on Brexit and the pandemic, which have cut EU workers and stalled the training of new drivers.

Milk was running low at Sainsbury’s superstore in Chelmsford, Essex over the weekend

The problems have been heightened by a lack of staff in supermarkets and the supply chain, partly caused by the pingdemic. 

The idea of using the Army emerged early last month during a meeting between food industry chiefs and Government officials.

Premier Foods, which owns Mr Kipling, Paxo and Ambrosia, made the suggestion, but it was ruled out by ministers at the time.

A Government spokesman said: ‘The pandemic has proven that the UK has a large, diverse and highly resilient food supply chain that has coped well in responding to unprecedented challenges.’

He added: ‘We are working closely with the haulage industry to understand and address recent pressures. 

‘There are no suggestions or plans to use military support and no requests have been made.’