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Yeah, this won't cause any kind of problems at all, right?

https://news.sky.com/story/hgv-driving- ... s-12404161

It's not just a UK problem with "Europe needing 400,000 more lorry drivers and the US also struggling to fill posts." Yet, we are told our shortage is because they've all gone back to Europe.

Or could it be drivers are fed up with working conditions/practices?

GTR1400MAN wrote:It's not just a UK problem with "Europe needing 400,000 more lorry drivers and the US also struggling to fill posts." Yet, we are told our shortage is because they've all gone back to Europe.

Or could it be drivers are fed up with working conditions/practices?

It's one part of a gathering storm, with other issues such as:
- Ageing 'population' of drivers
- Low wages, challenging conditions
- Lockdown loss of newly trained and tested drivers coming on

Re EU:

In a report released this week, European Road Freight Transport 2018, the supply chain analyst shows that in just six countries – the UK, Germany, France, Denmark Sweden and Norway – the shortage of drivers adds up to 127,500.

The UK leads the way with a shortage of 52,000 drivers, but is closely followed by Germany at 45,000 vacancies – with predictions that this could increase by a staggering 28,000 each year.

The report says: “In Germany, the DSLV transport union reports that in the next 15 years, two-thirds of drivers will retire. Germany is facing a shortage of 45,000 truck drivers, with around 30,000 leaving the profession every year. This compares with only 2,000 people receiving truck-driving qualifications each year.”

France has a shortage of 20,000 drivers, while road freight associations in Sweden, Denmark and Norway report shortages of 5,000, 2,500 and 3,000, respectively.

This, of course, leaves out more than 20 countries in Europe where numbers have not been collected – although it is safe to assume that similar trends are likely across western countries, where driver numbers have been on the decline for the past two decades.

This gap in the labour market has been partly filled by an influx of East Europeans, but the report warns there is a limit as to how much this will ease the driver shortage.


So, if that set of shortages is from 2018, we led the list pre-Brexit.

There is an age old phrase that the vast majority of people simply do not appreciate.
"If you bought it, a lorry brought it."

I hadn't considered the ageing population of drivers aspect but it fits with everything else. Young people are increasingly not interested in driving, whether that be cars or any other vehicles. Add in the greater influence of the green lobbies on the younger generations and I suspect that it can only get worse.

Thankfully HS2 is pressing on - that'll be able to shift the freight quickly! Won't it?

crr003 wrote:Thankfully HS2 is pressing on - that'll be able to shift the freight quickly! Won't it?

No, perhaps not.

But it might free capacity on other parts of the rail network to allow more freight.

We live very near Didcot and frequently see freight trains. The majority of these are carrying containers either from the Midlands or from Avonmouth / South Wales. Unfortunately once they reach a railhead, onward transport is by HGV ...

crr003 wrote:Thankfully HS2 is pressing on - that'll be able to shift the freight quickly! Won't it?

Perhaps, if there is the capacity and capability; are high speed rail tracks suitable for heavy freight trains?
It'll make little difference as the freight will still need to complete the journey by road.

Brexit made the problem more immediate, in the UK.
In the coming months when the full impact of import/export regulations come into effect it will get worse, much worse.
There are already many mainland transport firms that refuse to allow their vehicles to be used for runs to the UK. The danger of them being stuck and unable to make money is too great.

RiK wrote:Yeah, this won't cause any kind of problems at all, right?

https://news.sky.com/story/hgv-driving- ... s-12404161

I hear that the reversing part is being subbed out rather than withdrawn. It'll be interesting to know subbed out to whom and why, what was the tendering process and the what are the qualifications.