Britain's national newspapers will hold crisis talks on Thursday as the UK petrol drought threatens to bring their distribution system to its knees.
The Newspaper Publishers Association, the trade association for the eight national newspapers, is considering dropping magazines and supplements from the weekend editions. The national petrol shortage, caused by a blockade of refineries across the country, is set to bring distribution systems to a standstill if it continues.
The decision to remove supplements will reduce the load and number of deliveries by lorries and conserve fuel, but publishers face massive revenue losses as advertisers demand refunds.
Lucy Ukomunne, circulation and distribution manager of the NPA, said: "The decision will be made on Thursday. We will not distribute magazines and supplements if the crisis deepens."
Other options under consideration include narrowing the number of distribution runs from two to one, and reverting to the old, slower method of using rail transport.
"We have been talking to retailers and the government, who assure us that we are on the national priority list for this kind of situation," said Ms Ukomunne.
Circulation managers at all the national publications are drafting contingency plans that will get the papers out until the end of the week, but a complete standstill is likely if the pumps stay dry into next week.
