Worker absenteeism -- not trucker vaccine mandates -- impacting store shelves: Metro
Vaccine mandates for truckers have raised transportation costs -- but haven't impacted the shipment of goods to stores, the head of one of Canada's largest grocery chains says.
Instead, Metro president and CEO Eric La Fleche said Tuesday the biggest impact on Canada's food industry supply chain has been worker absenteeism due to COVID-19 protocols.
The labour shortage caused by quarantined workers has impacted the entire supply chain -- including retail stores, distribution centres and suppliers as well as transportation -- driving sporadic outages of certain products, he said.
"The domino effect clearly has had an impact over the last month on supply chain," La Fleche said.
Yet while there might be less depth and variety to Metro's product assortment than usual, La Fleche said "there's still food on store shelves."
"There's certainly less variety than there should be and we're not as full as we'd like to be," he said. "But we're not missing food out there."
Meanwhile, the worst of the product delays and shortages might have passed, La Fleche said.
"More and more people that were infected are back at work, both at our suppliers and in our own operations," he said. "It's improving every day. Every week, we're getting better."
Still, inflation is expected to persist, especially in transportation.
"Costs are up," La Fleche said. "It's higher inflation than normal in our business. We're getting cost increases from our suppliers and we are managing our prices at retail as best we can."
He said shipping costs have faced "significant inflation" over the past year, with an added jump earlier this month when Canada and the U.S. ushered in vaccine mandates at the border that have caused trucker shortages.
"We felt an immediate increase in the transportation costs for that," La Fleche said. "But I can't say that we have huge shipping issues affecting delivery of goods to our stores."
He added: "Overall, I think on the trucking side we are well serviced."
Diane Brisebois, Retail Council of Canada president and CEO, said the supply chain is being impacted by multiple factors from labour shortages to weather events like flooding and wildfires.
"I wish I could simply say it's because there aren't enough truckers, but it's much more complex than that," she said.
"In most cases we're seeing a delay of goods, not a shortage. The shelves will get restocked, eventually."
The comments came as Metro raised its quarterly dividend by 10 per cent to 27.5 cents per share and reported its first-quarter profit and sales climbed compared with a year ago.
The Montreal-based grocery and drugstore retailer said Tuesday it earned $207.7 million or 85 cents per diluted shared for the 12-week period ended Dec. 18, up from a profit of $191.2 million or 76 cents per share in the same quarter a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, Metro said it earned 88 cents per diluted share, up from an adjusted profit of 79 cents per diluted share a year ago.
Sales in the quarter totalled $4.32 billion, up from $4.28 billion in the same quarter last year. The increase came as food same-store sales fell 1.4 per cent compared with a year ago, while pharmacy same-store sales rose 7.7 per cent.
Metro said it expects sales to remain stable in its second quarter, but cautioned that there continues to be uncertainty.
In the short term, however, food sales are expected to remain relatively stable as restaurant closures and work-from-home advisories persist, Metro said.
On the pharmacy side, the company said sales are expected to climb compared with the prior year due to the launch of the COVID-19 rapid test distribution in its network coupled with less restrictive government measures.
Metro said it was "unfavourably impacted" last year by a six-week ban on the sale of non-essential goods in Quebec.
In light of the Omicron wave, Metro offered frontline store and distribution centre employees gift cards last week. Full-time workers will receive a $300 gift card while employees who work 15 hours a week or more will receive $150. Those that work fewer than 15 hours a week will receive $75.
The company operates under several banners including grocers Metro, Metro Plus, Super C and Food Basics, and drugstores under the Jean Coutu, Brunet, Metro Pharmacy and Drug Basics banners.
- This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 25, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
U.S. schools turn to artificial intelligence to spot guns as companies press lawmakers for state funds
Kansas could soon offer up to US$5 million in grants for schools to outfit surveillance cameras with artificial intelligence systems that can spot people carrying guns. But the governor needs to approve the expenditures and the schools must meet some very specific criteria.
Air quality advisories issued in 5 provinces, 1 territory
Air quality advisories are in effect across Western Canada as smoky conditions plague some areas, according to the latest forecasts. Here's where.
Just how bad are ultraprocessed foods? Here are 5 things to know
Many foods fall under the category of ultraprocessed foods, depending on their exact ingredients. This type of food has been studied a lot lately, and the results aren’t great.
No refund for travellers who cancelled flight already scrapped by airline: regulator
Four years on, the controversy over whether airlines owed refunds to passengers after cancelling hundreds of thousands of flights during the pandemic continues to simmer, aggravated by a sluggish, opaque complaints process.
opinion Harry and Meghan's Nigerian adventure: traditional attire to warm welcomes
For her latest column on CTVNews.ca, royal commentator Afua Hagan writes about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's recent visit to Nigeria, calling it a 'deeply meaningful campaign' that was about aligning their ongoing efforts to foster mental-health awareness and promoting the Invictus Games.
'Oh my God, you're my brother': Man in his 70s discovers 6 unknown siblings
After receiving a DNA kit one Christmas from his son-in-law, Hugh McCormick soon discovered that he had six unknown siblings, with whom he shared the same birth parents.
'It happened so fast': Evacuees describe fleeing Fort Nelson, B.C., wildfire
Thousands have been forced to flee a wildfire burning near Fort Nelson. Meanwhile, some experienced volunteers are staying behind to fight the fire.
Rates of cancer declining in Canada, but more work needed to save lives: projections
A new study projecting declining rates of cancer cases and deaths in Canada demonstrates the success of prevention and early detection programs, but also highlights areas where more work is needed to save and prolong lives, researchers say.
DEVELOPING Cohen expected to take the stand as testimony in Trump hush money case enters 4th week
The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial is set to take the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the first criminal case against an American president.