We really can't get it right either way, can we?
Turns out, the
emergency petrol tanker fleet that was dispatched by the UK government yesterday was even more necessary than first thought, as it has been revealed that the haulage industry has gone from having too few drivers to having too many drivers.
While this back-up fleet was initially readied for the possibility of the army being deployed to deliver fuel supplies to petrol stations across the UK (which is still the case), an
exclusive by The i newspaper reports that hauliers now have more drivers than they do tankers, meaning they will have to lease them from the government's emergency fleet.
According to Whitehall sources, the emergency measures taken by petrol hauliers - cutting annual leave, longer hours and reaching out for volunteers - has meant that most companies have now run out of tankers to deliver fuel to the forecourts. Meanwhile, there is still a
shortfall of around 100,000 HGV drivers for other goods.
Despite insisting that there are signs of improvement - and that the 80-strong fleet usually kept at two depots in West Yorkshire and Cambridgeshire will be manned by civilians - Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has confirmed that the army will be roped in to assist with deliveries, adding: "I think in the next couple of days, people will see some soldiers driving the tanker fleet.”
At one point, it was estimated that
up to 90 per cent of British forecourts had run dry; now, though, Kwarteng has stated that upon looking at the most recent deliveries of petrol, "they were matched yesterday by the sales, so that means the situation is stabilising."
Furthermore, the head of the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), Gordon Palmer, informed media that "Only
27% of PRA members have reported being out of fuel today, and with regular restocks taking place, we are expecting to see the easing to continue over the next 24 hours."
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