RETAILERS that have already had a bleak time in 2020 with a lack of footfall or forced closure are having to face the additional problem of a lack of stock to sell. Delays in handling imported containers at the Port of Felixstowe - which stem from increased orders and Brexit stockpiling - are at the forefront, but the cost of transporting a container from Asia has quadrupled, and some are refusing to import. At one point, there had been 11,000 containers of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) on the docks waiting to be distributed, which rail freight operator Freightliner moved to London at short notice.
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