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Age gap aggravates driver shortages

[ March 22, 2024   //   ]

Without significant action, the shortage of truck drivers is projected to double by 2028 due to the growing age gap, says the International Road Transport Union (IRU)’s latest report. A survey of more than 4,700 trucking companies in the Americas, Asia and Europe – found that the share of drivers under 25 continues to remain low at 12% or less.

In many regions, one of the reasons for the low share of young truck drivers is an ageing total population  but the share of young truck drivers is also below the active population benchmark in all regions, except in China and Uzbekistan, meaning that the profession is attracting fewer young people compared to other sectors.

Europe has the highest average driver age (47) with a third of its driver population above 55 years old, while only 21% of its overall active population are over that age. Moreover, the share of its young drivers is very low (only 5% of drivers are below 25).

However, there are also encouraging signs in some countries where the share of young drivers has improved, such as in the US (8.1% in 2022 versus 6% in 2020).

The share of women truck drivers is also well below the overall transport industry employment rate for women. Less than 6% of truck drivers are women in all regions studied. At 8%, the United States is the only country with a higher share of women drivers.

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