Brexit Stockpiling

Last spring I was very aware that a lot of the companies I work with were stockpiling.  In one particularly spectacular case there was a wall of stock piled up through the middle of the warehouse effectively dividing it into two.  The extra forklift travel time was one of those costs of Brexit that would never be captured by the most diligent accountant.


When the deadline came and went the stockpiles started to be used.  There is very little stock that gets any more valuable while being stored, so as soon as the date had passed the stocks began to be run down.

Interestingly I didn't come across anyone who was stockpiling groceries.  I bought some tinned beans, tomatoes and Fray Bentos pies.  But that was about it.  I've subsequently eaten the pies and the tomatoes.  I don't like beans much so will probably have them for a while.  But I didn't hear anyone talking about it.

Now I have not noticed any businesses repeating their stockpiling activities ahead of the 31st October date.  There have been a few emails from companies drawing attention to their plans in the event of disruption.   But on the whole if my experience is anything to go by the new deadline is attracting much less attention that the previous one in the business world.

People on the other hand seem to be taking the autumn date rather more seriously than they took the spring one.   I haven't heard anyone talking about their plans, but shopkeepers in my town report that sales of non-perishable commodities like toilet rolls are up and that sales of big ticket items are down. 

This is all very anecdotal and I am not especially well placed to judge how the country as a whole is reacting - but the actual stats won't be out for months so that is all I have to work on. 

So if I am right this is all rather bad news.  We need business to be prepared because as a trading nation we really need to be getting on with trading.   But the only way out of the mess we have got ourselves into is if politicians think they'll get punished by the voters if they press on with their scheme.  I have a feeling that the psychology of it is that if you are prepared for it, then it is less scary.  I don't necessarily agree with opinion polls, but they seem to be indicating that although support for Brexit has fallen a bit there is still a sizeable chunk of people who even now want to go ahead.  This doesn't make leaving inevitable, but it is the biggest block on the road.