The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport has published findings from a recent industry survey on the current driver shortage crisis.
More than three-quarters of respondents declared their organisation is experiencing a driver shortage, and more than three-quarters of respondents also said they had increased pay to help deal with the current driver shortage.
The survey also revealed that the Southeast of England was experiencing the highest level of driver shortage, with East Midlands and London second and third.
CILT conducted a similar survey seven years ago in 2015, and the findings have been compared in the 2022 CILT Driver Shortage Crisis Report. Comparing the data, the average age of a driver has increased by four years, from age 47 in 2015 and age 51 in 2022.
The overwhelming majority of respondents cited ‘unsociable hours’ as the main responsible factor for the driver shortage, with nearly 80% of respondents selecting this choice. This was followed by a lack of European Drivers and the age of drivers.
Not enough Government action
Respondents were asked if they thought the government is doing enough to highlight and deal with the driver shortage, to which 92% of respondents said no. This is an increase from the 2015 results.
Organised by the Institute’s passenger transport and logistics benchmarking clubs, LogMark and BusMark, the survey was completed by companies involved in both the movement of goods and passengers. The survey aims to encourage collaboration and debate across the transport, logistics and supply chain sector to tackle this ongoing crisis.
Commenting on the survey, Sharon Kindleysides FCILT, Chief Executive at CILT(UK), said: ‘The survey results clearly show that much still needs to be done to combat ongoing driver shortages. Through our research, we hope to add clarity to the situation by providing an opportunity for organisations to discuss where, why and how the driver shortage is having the most impact on business and public transport. For the first time, we have brought together two of our leading benchmarking clubs in the logistics and passenger transport space to understand the driver shortage across all modes of transport fully. We hope these results will spark collaboration and help organisations better understand the challenge at the core of our profession.’
