Delivery bottlenecks in Germany due to Omikron: logistics boss now sees "very serious problem"
Created: 01/10/2022 05:08 AM
By: Markus Hofstetter
An almost empty shelf is in a supermarket in Berlin-Wilmersdorf.
(Archive image) © Christoph Soeder / dpa
The Omikron variant exacerbates an existing problem faced by freight forwarders.
The logistics association BGL is already warning of increasing delivery bottlenecks.
Frankfurt / Main - There have been delivery bottlenecks in Germany for months.
The situation is not yet like in Great Britain, where empty shelves in supermarkets are almost part of everyday life.
But in certain areas, companies and consumers are also affected in this country.
Freight forwarders fear delivery bottlenecks due to Omikron: Companies and consumers are already affected
Car manufacturers such as VW or BMW complain about a lack of chips, they cannot deliver as many cars as they actually planned.
Consumers wait months for the bikes or game consoles they have ordered.
Even with food there are occasional empty spaces on the shelves.
One reason for this are the supply chains messed up by Corona and a lack of truck drivers.
According to the Federal Association of Freight Transport and Logistics (BGL), there is already a shortage of 60,000 to 80,000 professional drivers.
Germany is threatened with a supply collapse in two to three years, similar to that in Great Britain, the association warned in October last year.
Freight forwarders fear delivery bottlenecks due to Omikron: not all supply chains can be maintained
But in view of the impending omicron wave, the situation in Germany is getting worse more quickly.
The BGL sees the security of supply at risk.
"Omikron has the potential that delivery bottlenecks occur more frequently and that not all supply chains can be maintained," said BGL President Dirk Engelhardt of
Bild am Sonntag
.
On the one hand you have Omikron as a short-term, but "very serious problem", on the other hand you have a worldwide driver shortage in the long term.
The BGL President is therefore calling on politicians to take prompt precautions now.
For example, Germany could be divided into four to six regions in order to respond more specifically to possible bottlenecks.
Forwarders fear delivery bottlenecks due to Omikron: Politicians want to keep supply chains stable
The appeal seems to be heard in politics.
Volker Wissing (FDP) promised to counter possible bottlenecks with all his might.
"We are doing everything to keep the supply chains stable," said the Federal Transport Minister of
Bild am Sonntag
.
He is regularly informed about the latest developments.
Most recently, reports about the rapid spread of the Omikron variant had stoked fears that the essential infrastructure would be endangered.
Accordingly, the Omikron wave could lead to massive absences from work and thus also limit the availability of essential services.
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