AsdaDue to widespread shortages, Tesco and Sainsbury’s are asking some suppliers to pay extra to cover the increased costs because they are forced to increase the salaries of delivery drivers.
In a letter seen by The Guardian, Asda Write a letter to the supplier using its collection service, request an increase in transportation cost payment by 5%, and blame the shortage of HGV drivers across the country.
The UK’s third-largest supermarket was recently acquired by the billionaire owner of the gas station business EG Group and private equity firm TDR Capital, and it said it needs help to deal with the 12% increase in driver costs in certain areas.
Asda said: “Although passing any costs to suppliers is the last resort, the challenges of the logistics industry are still unsolved, so we hope to work closely with supply partners to change the rates we provide for this service.”
Asda’s requirements for suppliers follow Tesco At the end of last month, delivery costs from suppliers were required to rise by nearly 18%, of which only a little more than 10 percentage points, it said it was entirely due to the increase in driver wages. Sainsbury Some suppliers are required to increase delivery costs by 2.9% from October 3, but they did not explain why.
In a detailed letter first reported by the Grocery Trade Magazine, Asda blamed the shortage of delivery drivers on BrexitThis affects the right of European drivers to work in the UK, as well as the Covid-19 pandemic, which restricts cross-border travel and makes many drivers go home for long periods of lockdown, as well as tax changes and insufficient testing facilities.
“Although we continue to bear the additional costs and deal with all these problems we encountered, we need to recover some of the additional costs,” the company wrote to the supplier.
The British logistics company, which represents cargo owners including supermarkets, estimates that there is a shortage of 90,000 HGV drivers, of which about 25,000 are from the European Union. They follow BrexitMost importantly, there is a backlog of 25,000 truck driver license applications.
Ged Futter, the founder of Retail Mind consulting firm, said that supermarket demand may lead to increased costs for shoppers later this year. “This opens the door for inflation-they can’t deny that it is happening,” he said. He said that by the end of this year, shoppers’ prices may increase by 5% to 10%.
Futter’s comments echo those of Ian Wright, CEO of the Food and Beverage Federation, which represents companies throughout the food supply chain.He said earlier this month that the “workers’ war” triggered by the combination of Brexit and the new crown virus will Cause food prices to rise Reach the “mid single digits” by autumn.
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The government is speeding up the HGV licensing process to attract more drivers on the road. It also extended legal working hours and allowed the company to deliver goods in the evening or early in the morning.But the transportation group said that these measures have Did not completely solve the driving problem, As the number of Covid-19 cases increases and Related notice Workers are instructed to isolate by the NHS testing and tracking application.
The absenteeism rate of the logistics network is estimated to be about 8%, a large part of which is attributable to the self-isolation of workers, but retailers and transporters say the problem caused by the shortage of drivers is much more serious.
James Bielby of the Federation of Wholesale Distributors said that as companies try to attract new drivers, wage costs in some areas have risen by at least 10%, or even as high as 20%.
