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No end to driver shortage, warns IRU

[ June 2, 2021   //   ]

Truck driver shortages are expected to increase in 2021 by over a quarter on 2020 levels in almost all of the 23 countries surveyed in the International Road Transport Union (IRU) recent global survey of road transport firms.
It added that gaps are set to increase at a much higher rate in some countries, including by 150% in Spain, 175% in Mexico and 192% in Turkey.
With the global economy expected to pick up in 2021, transport operators and shippers are increasingly facing issues stemming from driver shortages, such as increasing costs, operational difficulties and unhappy clients.
“The driver situation this year is worse than normal, as many senior drivers stopped working last year to avoid catching COVID-19, training centres were closed and others left the profession due to the challenges and barriers imposed on them to work,” said IRU secretary general, Umberto de Pretto,.
“As we look beyond the pandemic, many operators will find it impossible to find drivers to meet future customer demand.”
While 2020’s dip in transport demand due to the pandemic is largely to blame for the higher than normal spike in shortages in 2021, the root cause across most markets remains skills, argues IRU.

IRU is holding a RoadMasters Forum on 9 June to explore how leading road transport companies and human capital experts are addressing the problem – https://tinyurl.com/svyz6hnn

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