HGV driver numbers fall by 53,000 in four years

THE number of lorry drivers in Britain has plunged by 53,000 over the past four years with the fall the largest among middle-aged hauliers, according to official figures.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said analysis of the annual population survey has revealed an estimated 17% plunge in the number of HGV drivers working in the UK to 268,000 in the year to June, down from a peak of 321,000 in 2016-17.

But industry figures have put the shortage of lorry drivers in the UK at a far higher 100,000.

The ONS report underlines the issues facing the crisis-stricken haulage industry, with an ageing workforce, a shortage of EU nationals and mounting costs and red tape in the wake of Brexit.

The ONS said there were nearly a third fewer (29%) lorry drivers working in the UK aged between 46 and 54 than in the year to June 2017, with a 34,000 drop.

Nearly a third of all hauliers in the UK were aged 56 or over in 2020-21, with just under 20% aged between 19 and 35.

The figures showed the impact of the pandemic on the number of EU drivers working in the UK, with a 12,000 or 30% plunge since 2017.

The number of UK lorry drivers has fallen by 15%, or 42,000, in the same time.

Most of the decline has been seen in the past two years, particularly during the pandemic, which has taken its toll on EU drivers willing to work in the UK.

This has seen record numbers of transport and storage vacancies in the UK – at 52,000 in the three months to the end of September, up 49% up on the January to March 2020 pre-pandemic level, and with HGV drivers making up around 10% of that sector.

The lorry driver shortage is taking its toll across most sectors in the UK, increasingly leaving supermarket shelves bare and recently sparking a crisis on Britain’s petrol forecourts and forcing the army to step in to help with fuel deliveries.

A RECRUITMENT platform for HGV drivers is set to double the number of its users as the Government pushes for more trained drivers to get back behind the wheel.

Avail Technologies, based in Stockton, removes the need for traditional recruitment agencies for short-term contracts, allowing hauliers to reduce costs and drivers to earn more and comply with IR35 legislation.

Founded in 2018 by former British Army logistics specialist Erin Short, Avail currently employs five people at its headquarters and earlier this year it received £300,000 from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, managed by Mercia, to support its expansion plans and develop its app and driver platform.

Now the business says it has seen a huge surge in demand, putting it on target to double the number of registered users on its platform to more than 20,000 by the end of the year after gaining an official seal of approval in a Government drive to find more HGV drivers.

The number signing up has risen sharply following a letter from the

Department of Transport to the UK’s one million licensed HGV drivers asking those who had stopped driving to reconsider - and including a link to industry body Logistics UK which lists Avail as one of only five official recruitment providers.

The Road Haulage Association has estimated there is a shortage of around 100,000 qualified UK HGV drivers.

The widespread shortage is leading to delivery delays across all sectors, including retail, food and construction - but Avail says it is positioned well to help alleviate the situation.

Steven Rogers, head of marketing for Avail, said: “The Avail driver app is perfect for the current environment.

“It means employers can post their job and it will be sent to all appropriate drivers, while drivers out on the road can receive notifications of new work and apply with a few taps of the screen.

“The volume of sign-ups suggests there are many HGV licence holders out there who are actively looking for work.”