Executive Summary and Contents

Squeezed between an ageing workforce, rising costs and salaries, and customer demand that is set to rise in 2024, the UK’s road hauliers remain stuck in the slow lane as a result of an acute shortage of qualified HGV drivers

Executive Summary

Foreward by Adam Gibbons
Logistics Director
Manpower

With a demographic tipping point looming, the UK’s road haulage industry needs a fast-track solution to increase the pool of qualified HGV drivers

Only a temporary softening of demand for freight forwarding services is keeping the UK’s road haulage sector from a repeat of the supply/demand crisis seen in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic – a period when petrol stations ran dry and supermarket shelves went empty as there were insufficient HGV drivers to manage logistical demand. Industry insiders speculate that even a small increase in current haulage demand could make this worrying scenario a reality once more. The hard truth is, UK road haulage organisations are currently short of 50,000 HGV drivers and 81% of UK road hauliers and logistics businesses are reporting that they still cannot secure enough qualified drivers to meet their needs. Unfortunately, the solution to this problem is not one of simple recruitment. Even though overall demand for talent has slightly softened in recent months, the UK is locked in an acute talent shortage that stands at a 17-year high. More than 1,000,000 jobs remain open, over 500,000 workers are sitting on the sidelines, and in many cases, there remains far more jobs available than there are candidates to fill them.It’s a situation that affects every industry and it has reversed the long-established power structure in the world of work – employees now hold the keys, not the employer, and workers have enormous freedom to pick and choose the jobs they will pursue. The outcome of this new reality is that those industries and vocations that are deemed less attractive will lose out in the continuing race to secure new talent.Due to a mix of internal and external problems – some real, some perceived – many potential drivers – especially younger people – see a career as a professional HGV driver as being less attractive than a job in other industries. On top of these problems, the industry faces a demographic tipping point. The average age of UK HGV drivers is 55, and more than 150,000 HGV drivers over the age of 45 will retire in the next 10 to 20 years.This is more than 60% of the UK’s current HGV driver workforce and it does not include those younger drivers who may also quit the industry because they cannot secure the employment values they want.So where does this leave road hauliers? The answer is not in a good place. The UK economy is set to grow in 2024, which will ratchet up haulage demand, and long-range research forecasts the sector will grow at +2% CAGR through 2028 to further exacerbate the lack of talent. With too few drivers joining the industry and a mass exodus underway, the 16% of road haulage firms who expected to recruit more drivers in Q3 2023 seem set to be disappointed. To avoid the tipping point and a supply-chain crisis, the road haulage industry needs a new and focused source of talent. Read on to discover more about the problems impacting the industry and how the Driver Academy can offer an immediate solution to the driver shortage.

The issues are varied and challenging:

Difficult shift patterns and long times away from home
High cost of getting an HGV licence – typically more than £3,000 to obtain a Cat B to Cat C+E HGV Class 1 licence
Poor diversity among current HGV driver pool
Employers only wanting to hire experienced drivers
Road hauliers failing to meet the values that a younger talent pool finds important