It seems a perennial problem in recent years; grit supplies run dangerously low in winter months in the United Kingdom and other European countries.

Cathy Newman’s blog on the Channel 4 news website provides a good example of how things played out in the winter of 2010. UK Transport Secretary is quoted from a Commons debate on 2 December, 2010 as saying: ‘It’s going to be perfectly satisfactory to have the 250 000 tonnes (of salt) delivered progressively during the course of December and into early January.’ A harsh winter in 2009 should have alerted authorities to problems with levels of grit, and indeed an investigation by the Department for Transport followed. The report recommended an additional 250 000 tonnes should be held as a strategic stock. It also recommended the strategic stock should be in place by November each year at the latest. By 21 December, 2010 as bad weather continued, the Guardian newspaper quoted an expert report was warning that grit supplies would not last the winter, despite the increased strategic stocks. It was also noted that 100 000 tonnes of the strategic stock supply had not yet been delivered.

Questions 

1 What problems does the text above highlight in relation to safety stocks of grit?

2 Can you think of any additional costs of holding the strategic stocks referred to above?