The HGV driver shortage is a systemic issue

The transport sector’s HGV driver crisis has developed over many years as multinationals applied downward pressure on costs throughout the supply chain. As pay and conditions deteriorated, younger workers stayed away and the UK because increasingly reliant on cohorts of foreign drivers.

Brexit and tax changes, have contributed to the return of up to 20k European drivers to the continent, while years of underinvestment in HGV drivers and the impact of lockdowns on driving tests, has contributed to an estimated shortage of 100k HGV drivers.

The impact of this shortage is being felt increasingly by the general public and every business vertical, but it is particularly pronounced across the freight sector.

There are issues arranging local freight collections and deliveries and there are significant capacity issues for pan-European transport, but it is the sea freight sector and in particular the movement of containers that has been hardest hit, as drivers move move en-masse to the retail sector.

BIFA, the RHA, Logistics UK and the British Retail Consortium (BRC) have urged the government to take measures, including relaxing visa regulations, to alleviate the road haulage problem.

The government has announced that HGV driving tests will be overhauled to make an additional 20,000 tests available every year, which means drivers can gain their licence and enter the industry more quickly.

However, the announced measures are unlikely to make a significant difference to the Christmas peak, with DVSA, DVLA and the wider training industry needing time to apply changes and adapt their operations.

Our transport teams work tirelessly with our supplier partners to ensure that sufficient haulage resource is available as required, but even booking three or four weeks in advance, is no guarantee that lines or contractors will not cancel the booking without notice.

We manage these difficult situations every day, finding alternative solutions to support our customers. Using imagination, experience, creativity and an unwavering commitment to do everything we can to meet deadlines.

Hauliers have been increasing driver pay rates, offering retention and loyalty bonuses and improving working conditions in a bid to halt the outflow of experienced personnel, which is being reflected in the costs incurred and may reflect a longer term trend to make the industry more attractive to new generation of drivers.