The United Kingdom may see a shortage of alcoholic beverages for the Christmas season due to supply chain disruptions, a group of beverage manufacturers warned in a letter to the government.
The letter was signed by 48 members of the UK Wine and Spirit Trade Association, including LVMH, maker of Moet champagne and Hennessy cognac. “It is imperative that the Government takes immediate steps to help mitigate the impact of the driver shortages crisis before the Christmas period," the letter stated.
The trade association urged the British government to take measures including faster freight unloading at ports and extending a temporary visa program for truck drivers that is due to expire in February.
One wine distributor told CNN that his company normally has up to 100 rail liquid tankloads of capacity on reserve, but that now, it’s down to 10 to 20 due to congestion at rail hubs.
