The shortage of HGV drivers in the UK is expected to ease after a challenging 12 months for the sector, according to a report from trade association Logistics UK.
The report revealed that significant steps have been taken to try to resolve the recruitment issues, including increasing the capacity to test new drivers, providing new training schemes and raising wages.
“The flexibility and resilience of our sector in coping with a smaller workforce, coupled with issues caused by Brexit and supply chain disruption caused by worldwide container shipping issues, have been incredible,” said Elizabeth de Jong, policy director at Logistics UK.
“With higher wages now helping to plug the gaps in employment for companies which can afford them and an increase in HGV driver tests of 25.6% and three-fold increase in applications for vocational provisional licences, there is hope that the shortage of HGV drivers will ease.”
The shortage of qualified HGV drivers, estimated to have reached almost 100,000 at the worst point, resulted in delivery problems for many industries throughout the year and has led some retailers to warn about limited supplies at Christmas.
The report welcomed the progress made, but cautioned that much work still needed to be done.
“Although average driver pay surged 10% in the nine months to October 2021 in order to retain existing staff and attract new drivers, smaller fleet operators are still not back to full fleet capacity after the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, and their inability to compete for drivers by offering higher wages appears to be hindering their efforts to recruit new staff,” said de Jong.
The report said there were 44,000 fewer HGV drivers by early autumn compared with the same time in 2019.
Logistics UK members operate more than 200,000 lorries, almost half of the UK fleet.