London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 26, 2025

Booksellers warn over Christmas supplies amid UK lorry driver shortage

Booksellers warn over Christmas supplies amid UK lorry driver shortage

Shops build up stocks early to offset bottlenecks as publishers warn Brexit and pandemic are delaying distribution
Publishers and retailers have warned of potential delays on Christmas books as the shortage of lorry drivers affects deliveries.

Waterstones, the UK’s biggest high street bookseller, said it had upped stocks of books by a quarter and ordered early to try to offset distribution problems as several publishers admitted that deliveries were under strain.

“We will have shops fuller than ever before to make sure we don’t get caught by logistics problems as we did last year,” said James Daunt, who also runs Foyles, Daunt Books in the UK and Barnes & Noble in the US.

But he said that the longer lead times on books, particularly those printed abroad, could cause problems later in the year. “My concern is that at the beginning of December if we need 50,000 copies of whatever [unforeseen literary hit] and it’s not there.”

On Amazon, Richard Osman’s new book, The Man Who Died Twice, which is due out on 16 September, celebrity parish council clerk Jackie Weaver’s book You Do Have the Authority Here! and MOB Kitchen’s latest title Comfort MOB, were all unavailable for delivery on their September launch date. The site warned that Osman’s book could not be delivered until just over a week after launch day.

Ben Lebus, the cook and founder of MOB Kitchen, said in an Instagram post on 3 September, the day after Comfort MOB’s launch: “There is a lot of stock on its way to Amazon, but due to various delivery issues (labour shortages impacted by Covid) some of you may not receive your books on time.” He said the book was available at other retailers.

The publishers Penguin Random House, Hachette UK and HarperCollins have all acknowledged distribution difficulties across the industry which had forced businesses to stock up early.

Nigel Newton, the chief executive of Bloomsbury Publishing, the company behind the Harry Potter books, also flagged up delays. “The cocktail of the Brexit and Covid-driven driver exodus occurring against an upswing in consumer demand plus the equally pressing problem of sea-freight capacity shortages mean that our crystal ball finds it difficult to say how long delivery delays will last,” he said.

He said the company had been able to minimise the problem by managing demand for its books and a number of other measures, including being flexible about where they were printed.

“The entire UK supply chain is seeing major disruptions as a result of both Brexit and the pandemic, which are being felt across all industries,” a spokesperson for Penguin Random House told The Bookseller trade journal.

Lesley O’Mara, of publisher Michael O’Mara, said it had not yet put publication dates back but added: “All publishers are trying to get books in early just in case [there are delays] so printers and the warehouse are struggling to keep up.” She said retail price rises were inevitable next year as costs had risen substantially.

Amazon declined to comment.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
×