Camping gear and garden furniture "running low"

A new report says as more of us stay home for holiday this year, tents, picnic baskets, garden toys and many other summer essentials could be in short supply as retailers risk running out of stock

Sam Tyagi, supply chain expert and CEO of customs clearance platform KlearNow, says a “perfect storm” of supply chain disruptions could lead to shortages across the UK this summer, with smaller retailers that were hoping to take advantage of the staycation boom being worst affected.

Tyagi, whose company uses artificial intelligence to process thousands of import and export documents every week, says UK importers are waiting on goods that were due to arrive in the UK weeks ago, but which are still on container ships in completely the wrong parts of the world.

Meanwhile, retailers are expressing concerns that products are unlikely to hit UK ports before stocks run out.

Says Tyagi: “A combination of Covid-19 restrictions, the backlog from the Suez Canal blockage, increasing global demand for shipping containers, disruption to shipping caused by India’s public health crisis and a shortage of packaging materials means UK businesses are already struggling to meet Summer demand.”

“With competition for container space so high, some smaller businesses are simply being priced out of landing the goods and materials that they need.”

“We’ve processed more than a hundred thousand UK customs documents since January and speak to many UK businesses every day. The one word we keep hearing is “chaos.” UK businesses are facing an increasing array of supply chain challenges already and it’s only going to get worse”.

Based on their latest data, Sam believes the following materials could be difficult to get hold of this half term

Camping equipment

Causes: Boom in demand due to increase in staycations, backlog from Suez Canal blockage, production delays in China.

“The Suez Canal blockage happened just as shipments due to arrive in the UK for summer had set sail. There are currently at least nine containers of camping and outdoor equipment that we know of held up in Egypt as a result of the Suez Canal blockage. We’re also told that a number of containers ordered from China last October are still yet to arrive in the UK.”

Garden toys

Causes: Production delays in the Far East, increased competition for stock.

‘Demand for garden toys increased significantly during 2020 as people were forced to stay at home. That has had a knock-on effect in 2021 and manufacturers in the Far East are now struggling to keep up.

“We’ve spoken to a number of toy retailers who are struggling to get hold of garden toy stocks for this summer. The shortage is due to an increase in demand for the product and high competition for space on container vessels. Shipping prices are increasing due to limited space, which is pricing out smaller, independent retailers.”

Garden furniture and picnic baskets

Causes: 2020 demand exceeded supply, production slowdown in China, shipping delays.

“Outdoor dining is another product line that’s become a victim of its own lockdown success. There’s been a rush on plastic moulded outdoor furniture and picnic baskets. Some small retailers are reporting difficulties sourcing stock because larger retailers have taken them all. Stocks that were exhausted in summer 2020 are being replenished at a slower than expected rate due to production delays.