The UK is also ‘port turmoil’… Delivery delayed by 1 week due to 50,000 containers piled up

The recent ‘port turmoil’ caught in the US is spreading to Europe. Shipping was delayed by up to a week as containers could not be unloaded at the Port of Felixstow, Britain’s largest port, due to a shortage of transport workers. The chaos of the Christmas season this winter is also expected.

British local media such as the BBC and The Guardian reported on the 13th (local time) that there was no space to unload containers at Felixstow Port, causing a riot. There are currently 50,000 containers stacked in the port, and deliveries are said to be delayed by up to a week. Felixstow Port is known to handle 36% of UK container imports and exports.

Lack of truck drivers is cited as the main cause of the port turmoil. There is no truck to move the containers from the port and bring the empty containers back. Previously, the UK transport industry had a setback in the supply of fuel and food due to the tightening of immigration laws and the evacuation of foreign workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It is analyzed that this problem has extended to port transportation. The port of Felixstow explained that “supply chain problems are causing port disruptions,” and other ports are in a similar situation.

The British port authorities predicted that the turmoil at the port of Felixstow could last six to nine months. This is expected to cause great inconvenience to British consumers during the Christmas season this winter. This is because toys, electronic products, bicycles, and household items are coming in through this place. If the delivery of these items is blocked, it will be difficult for consumers to purchase Christmas gifts, and prices may rise. Some even mentioned the possibility that consumers would make a ‘panic purchase’ like the gas crisis.

The British government is wary of excessive crisis theory and is taking a quiet response. The British government has appointed David Lewis, former CEO of Tesco, as a ‘supply chain advisor’ to improve the supply chain, and is pushing for the issuance of short-term visas for fuel, food and poultry drivers and support for training large cargo trucks. “Things are getting better,” Conservative Party Chairman Oliver Dowden said.