RHA is warning that over 117,000 HGV drivers have left the industry over the past 12 months, including a significant number of younger drivers, thanks to high insurance costs, expensive training requirements, the withdrawal of the government funded HGV driver bootcamps, and the pressures on an industry operating on slim margins.
Richard Smith, RHA managing director, said this week that boosting wages for HGV drivers was not enough to tackle the retention crisis and called for a joined-up strategy to tackle the ongoing HGV driver shortage.
Smith said: “The driver shortage story continues to evolve. Since our Skills Report earlier this year, which highlighted the need for 40,000 new HGV drivers annually, new data suggests we may have lost over 117,000 qualified drivers in just 12 months. That figure includes a surprising number in their 30s and 40s – not just retirees.
“Virtually every haulier we speak to is reporting growing driver shortages at levels unseen since the pandemic and the current situation is a culmination of multiple issues that have been building for years. So what’s going on?
“We’re seeing a shift. New drivers are struggling to get permanent roles – often blocked by insurance costs. Lapsed DQCs may reflect a deeper issue: drivers leaving because they feel the system isn’t working for them. Training is expensive and out of reach for many, and nationally funded bootcamps have been withdrawn.
“And our sector still sits outside key government priorities like the Industrial Strategy.
Smith said that whilst specialised sectors, such as tanker hauliers, are not struggling to recruit and retain, increased wages in the general haulage sector are not tackling the shortage.
He warned that that the problem runs deeper and lies in the nature of the industry. “The focus on price above all else has been imposed on the industry pretty much as a given by shippers for decades, which has led to much short termism amongst the larger players that take the larger contracts, and an erosion of already thin margins for the smaller hauliers. This causes supply chain vulnerability and risk for those same shippers as haulage capacity shrinks,” Smith explained.
He added: “We cannot keep relying on salary increases alone to attract and retain talent – especially when operators face rising costs across the board.
“Instead, we need to re-engage skilled drivers whose cards have lapsed. We need to invest in entry routes that work for new drivers and employers. And we must secure sustainable training support that reflects the importance of logistics to our economy.
“This is about creating the conditions where people see driving as a respected, long-term career. That means joined-up thinking from industry, government, and the wider skills system.”
Earlier this year the RHA published its Skills Report, which highlighted the need for 40,000 new drivers every year. The full report can be downloaded here.
