As more and more big high street stores go into administration due to the financial woes caused by the coronavirus pandemic and a sharp increase in online shopping, Midland Pallet Trucks, a provider of high-quality lifting and material handling equipment for the warehousing industry including pallet trucks, manual stacker trucks and lift tables, is predicting a further boom for the UK warehousing industry.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced shoppers to head online to make purchases, but many of the brands that once graced towns and cities have now found that they can operate digitally and sell goods with lower overheads in the virtual space. With the appetite for online shopping showing no signs of slowing as the UK slowly begins to ease lockdown restrictions – ecommerce sales were up 40% for the week 26 May – 1 June – the warehousing industry is more in demand than ever. With will need to act quickly to meet the growing demands of shoppers who are unable or unwilling to risk a trip to their local high street.

This poses a unique set of challenges for warehouse managers who back in 2019 were already concerned about the number of skilled workers available to help meet warehousing demand, with several trade bodies calling upon the Government to provide guaranteed access to a skilled workforce.

With HSE statistics showing work-related accidents and injuries caused by lifting and falls from height over the previous 12 months remain elevated, workers could be put at an even higher risk of injury should a limited amount of lifting and material handling equipment be available for use during increasingly busy shifts.

Midland Pallet Trucks stocks a wide range of high-quality lifting products to safeguard the health and wellbeing of all staff. Phil Chesworth, Managing Director of Midland Pallet Trucks said, “As the signals for the UK retail sector all point to further store closures and a continuation of the online shopping trend post-lockdown, we have been given special permission to continue operations by the government to help safeguard staff while many other sectors remained closed.

“Thanks to our centrally located distribution centre, products can be ordered either via phone or online and shipped the very same day, helping the warehousing industry to react quickly, remain agile and scale up to meet demand.”

 

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