New concerns about the impact of the UK’s exit from the EU going ahead without a deal in place were raised by members of the Freight Transport Association this week, with experts highlighting the likelihood that shipping and delivery services would be disrupted in this eventuality.

This would impact consumers across the country who want to carry out safe shopping online, as supplies of popular products may dwindle and access to newly released items may be limited until complications relating to the customs process can be ironed out.

Many in the business world are worried about how easy it will be to trade with countries that remain in the European Union after Brexit, with Prime Minister Theresa May urged to act quickly and preserve a friction-free approach to importing and exporting goods internationally.

Furthermore, the FTA points out that its members, which include delivery companies like DHL, are already injecting vast resources into preparing for the arrival of Brexit, with much of this expenditure seen as potentially wasteful in the event that no deal is decided upon by the March 29th deadline.

An estimated seven million people across the UK work in the logistics industry, which handles billions of packages, parcels and shipments each year. There are now fears that panic buying will occur and disruption to supply chains will put great pressure on retailers.

At the very least there will be job losses as companies tighten their belts and try to compensate for the loss of business that could occur if Brexit is executed with no clear indication of how overseas trade will be handled.

FTA members are chiefly worried about whether they will have enough time to prepare for all potential scenarios that are on the horizon, as there is still so much uncertainty over this issue.