On the one hand, there is a truck driver who laments that money is getting harder and harder, and on the other hand, there is a huge gap in the truck driver position. Isn't this scene too magical? The global unfilled commercial vehicle driver position continues to grow at an alarming rate, with a growing shortage of truck drivers in Europe, according to the International Road Transport Union IRU's annual driver shortage survey.
The IRU also presented the harsh reality to the European Parliament that the logistical crisis could crippling the economy and everyday life, with a gap of 425,000 professional drivers in Europe, and the average age of those in the job is 47 .
The IRU survey surveyed more than 1,500 commercial road operators in 25 countries in the Americas, Asia and Europe. In Europe, the driver shortage has grown by 42% from 2020 to 2021. For example, there are 71,000 vacant driver jobs in Romania, 80,000 in Poland and Germany, and 100,000 in the UK; while in Mexico in the Americas, the shortage has grown by 30% to 54,000. In places like Europe and the U.S., 2021 will see higher driver wages, but driver shortages have not eased.
The proportion of vacant truck drivers in some European countries, the number of vacant truck drivers
Umberto de Preto, secretary general of the IRU, said: “The long-standing shortage of commercial vehicle drivers is exacerbating, with cascading problems that will put economies and communities already under severe stress at a higher risk of risk of inflation, and supply chains could also collapse.”
Trends in the proportion of the truck driver gap (UR is the unemployment rate)
Looking ahead to 2022, IRU's forecasts for Argentina and China have changed slightly, but operators in most regions expect truck driver shortages to continue to increase, with Turkey's shortfall likely to grow by 15%, Mexico's 32%, and Europe's truck driver shortfall of even more. will increase by 40%. Passenger transport is also not optimistic, with 7% of bus and coach driver jobs vacant in Europe in 2021, and 8% by 2022, according to operator estimates.
● Insufficient attractiveness Disproportion between males and females
The problems causing this big vacancy are various, one of the key problems is the unattractive career of driving, the difficult working conditions make it not look like other cool jobs, and the industry also has a very low employment rate of women, This has led to a small source of people entering this industry.
According to statistics, by 2021, less than 3% of truck drivers in all regions will be women, but there are also some countries that are slightly better in this regard. The figure is 5% in China and 8% in the United States, which is better than the European average. Level.
Proportion of female truck drivers in selected European countries in 2021
● Population ratio becomes a ticking time bomb
Another problem that has become a ticking time bomb that will explode over time is the age structure of the population. Young drivers under the age of 25 remain a minority in most regions, making up 6 to 7 percent of the truck driver population.
On the other hand, all regions except China and Mexico have two to five times more drivers over the age of 55. In the US and Europe, older drivers make up about one-third of the workforce, and if the average driver is the oldest, Europe really does it at 47!
Proportion of young truck drivers (<25 years old) in selected European countries in 2021
The widening age gap is even more acute for passenger transport, with only 3% of bus and coach drivers under the age of 25 in Europe in 2021; however, 32% of drivers are over 55 and the average driver age for 50 years old. According to road transport operators, the current driver shortage crisis is caused by the lack of skilled drivers in most regions.
● The Russian-Ukrainian conflict is drawing wages from the bottom of the pot
I have to say that this issue really has something to do with the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. According to statistics, about 20% of the trucking mileage in Europe is contributed by Ukrainian truck drivers. And since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, many Ukrainian truck drivers working in Western Europe have given up their jobs and returned home to fight against the Russian army, and Ukraine has also banned adult male citizens from leaving Ukraine because they are at risk of being drafted into the army .
The lack of replacement of Ukrainian drivers who have left has naturally exacerbated the huge gap in Europe, especially in Poland, Slovakia and Hungary, where Ukrainian truck drivers account for a high proportion.
IRU Secretary General Umberto de Preto concluded: “Road transport operators are doing their part, but governments and authorities need to stay focused, especially to improve parking infrastructure, train access and encourage more of women and young people enter the industry.
Since Europe, especially Western Europe, is so short of truck drivers and earns a lot of money, wouldn't it be a good way to go there to drive a truck? Yes, drivers in Eastern European countries such as Ukraine and Romania have also noticed it long ago. But the ideal is very rich, but the reality is very skinny. Some European transportation companies have signed contracts with these Eastern European drivers and introduced them to work in Western Europe, but they have made money on these drivers through various loopholes.
But when they actually came over, they found that the money they earned was significantly lower than what these transportation companies promised, not even the local minimum wage. And because the wages are so low, the transport companies can avoid paying taxes and pensions that keep these drivers working to maintain their standard of living.
In fact, Europe has seen this problem for a long time, and plans to create a safe and socially responsible road transport sector to crack down on illegal activities and improve drivers' pay and working conditions. The package, which went into effect in February, includes restricting trucks from returning to their home countries every eight weeks, and using digital speedometers to monitor the border at the border.
Some European parliamentarians also pointed out the current problem. It is necessary to build new parking lots, improve sanitation facilities, and eliminate the manual labor of unloading. It is possible to alleviate the shortage of drivers. A parliamentarian from the Bulgarian Ministry of Environmental Protection also agreed, emphasizing that "money is not everything" and that drivers need better working conditions in addition to increased pay. The representatives of Hungary, Romania and Ireland said they would continue to facilitate the profession of driving by lowering the age requirement for drivers in their countries from 21 to 18.
