Tuesday, August 24, 2021
Not available in UK
McDonald’s are running out of milkshakes
The UK supply chains are rattling right now. There is a shortage of thousands of truck drivers. For customers, this means doing without, and in the case of McDonald’s, a popular drink is currently not available.
The British McDonald’s branches have run out of milkshakes due to an acute shortage of truck drivers. “Like many retailers, we are currently experiencing delivery problems that affect the availability of individual products. Bottled beverages and milkshakes are currently not available in England, Scotland and Wales,” said a company spokeswoman. According to the BBC, the chain has 1,250 branches in these parts of the country. The reason for the bottlenecks is a significant shortage of truck drivers who transport goods from A to B.
The shortage, which the Road Haulage Association estimates at around 100,000 missing truck drivers, has to do with the fact that many drivers from Europe left the country after Brexit. Complicated and expensive visa procedures are now necessary, which is why hardly any new ones are added. In addition, thousands of drivers retire every month and there are not enough offspring. Tens of thousands of driving tests have been canceled due to the pandemic. The industry is calling for non-bureaucratic visas for European drivers and better subsidies for driving tests.
In UK supermarkets, large gaps on the shelves have not been overlooked for weeks. The British Retail Consortium confirmed “minor disruptions in supply chains”. Tesco, one of the UK’s largest supermarket chains, also said it was experiencing sporadic disruptions due to the industry-wide shortage of drivers. This leads to bottlenecks in certain products.
The Sainsbury’s chain points out that, although individual products may be missing, there is still a large selection. Petrol stations or factories that would have to suspend their production are also affected. “Everything we get in the UK comes to us on the wing of a truck,” said MacKenzie. The shortage of drivers, which according to MacKenzie means that many large supermarkets only get one instead of about three deliveries a day, also has to do with Brexit.
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