UK plunges towards supply chain crisis due to staff and transport disruption

Shortage of workers and disruption caused by Covid and Brexit push retail stock to 38-year low

Britain's economy has been plunged into a supply chain crisis, with major retailers' stock levels at their the lowest since 1983 as a result of worker shortages and transport disruption caused by Covid and Brexit.

In a development that suggests recovery from the pandemic could be at risk, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said stock levels in relation to expected sales fell to their lowest level in August since it began tracking retail industry trends almost four decades ago.