The recruitment agency Manpower warned earlier this week that a shortage of drivers was forcing companies to pay £20 an hour as well as bonuses of £100 per shift. The online retailer Ocado has blamed that shortage this morning for a slowdown in the fourth quarter. Sales in the fourth quarter rose 11.6 per cent to £373.8 million, the company says in its trading update, down from 13.1 per cent in the third quarter. “A shortage of capacity, with the lack of drivers in certain locations being the largest factor, restricted our sales growth,” Tim Steiner, Ocado’s chief executive, said. “While this driver shortage has now been largely resolved, there was some short-term impact on average orders per week over the period.”Pre-tax…

Source: The Times December 14, 2017 09:00 UTC