// UK’s supply chain disruption is expected to persist until 2023
// Associated British Ports CEO Henrik Pedersen warned of the disruption
The current supply chain disruption is likely to continue until 2023, the boss of the UK’s biggest ports operator warned.
Associated British Ports (ABP) chief executive, Henrik Pedersen said he would be “positively surprised” if the problem eased before the end of next year.
“When you have congested container ports around the world, it takes a very long time to turn it around,” he said.
READ MORE: Retailers poised to freeze next-day deliveries ahead of Christmas
“We have a shortage of truck drivers in the UK, and in other countries, too, so it [the problem] is in the shipping leg and the road leg.”
The issues in the supply chain has slowed the UK’s economic growth from 5.5 per cent to 1.3 per cent in the third quarter.
Ikea said the disruption would last for several months, while Primark said it could remain until 2023.
Pedersen said ABP’s ports were still clogged up with empty containers that Asian ports were reluctant to take back because they did not have the space.
Waitrose is offering up to £45 an hour for HGV drivers willing to work night shifts over the Christmas holidays on temporary contracts, while Sainsbury’s is offering up to £40 an hour in overtime rates for temp drivers, who can also earn a bonus of up to £1000.
Big 4 grocer Tesco aims to be transporting 90,000 containers a year by rail by the end of 2021, up from 65,000 last year.
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