There are more than 3 million job openings for truck drivers currently in the 36 countries studied, and the driver shortage is expected to double within 5 years. Only 12% of drivers are under 25, and only 6% are women.
The IRU’s 2023 driver shortage report found that more than three million truck driver jobs were unfilled, or 7% of total jobs, in the 36 countries studied. As the huge gap between young and old drivers widens, it will only get worse over the next five years without concrete action.
Surveying more than 4,700 trucking companies in the Americas, Asia and Europe, representing 72% of global GDP, the IRU found that the truck driver shortage has increased globally in 2023.
There were two exceptions: Europe and the United States, where the shortage declined slightly in 2023 due to weak demand for transport as a result of inflation and tightening monetary policy, which limits consumption and investment.
The shortage is expected to become much worse in the coming years. Without action to attract and retain drivers, more than 7 million truck driver jobs could be filled by 2028 in the countries surveyed, including 4.9 million in China (20% of total jobs), and 745,000 in Europe (17% of total jobs), and 200,000 jobs. In Türkiye (28% of total jobs).
“The structural issues behind the truck driver shortage continue to impact transport services,” said IRU Secretary General Umberto De Brito. “With the rate of new arrivals significantly lower than the drivers retiring each year, urgent action is needed now.”
“We are missing more than 3 million truck drivers in the countries we examined. Given the demographics of the profession, we expect that number to double within five years.
“The consequences of these shortages are already harming the communities, supply chains and economies that depend on our industry.
“We cannot allow the driver shortage to get worse. Operators are doing their part, but governments and authorities need to step up efforts to improve working conditions and access to the profession.
At least 50% of road transport operators face serious problems recruiting skilled drivers, in most countries surveyed. Many of them are also unable to expand their business and lose existing customers and revenue.
Persistent demographic gaps
The truck driver profession has an aging population: less than 12% of truck drivers are under 25 years of age, and this percentage drops to 5% in Europe.
The only two countries included in the study with a higher proportion of drivers under the age of 25 were China (17%) and Uzbekistan (25%).
The share of women truck drivers also remains low at just 6%, lower than the transportation industry as a whole. China (6%) and the United States (8%) have the highest percentage of female truck drivers among the countries surveyed.
Facilitate access
The “school to wheel” gap is a major challenge facing the industry. The minimum driving age for international freight transport remains between 21 and 22 years in some countries.
High training, licensing and insurance costs also make it expensive to become a truck driver. In France, for example, the average cost of obtaining a truck driving license and a certificate of professional competence is 5,250 euros, more than three times the monthly minimum wage.
Governments must work to facilitate access to this profession by lowering the minimum driving age and subsidizing qualification costs.
Third country drivers
Aging populations – especially in Europe and the United States where less than 13% of workers are under 25 – partly explains the driver shortage, suggesting that the available pool of national workers may not be sufficient to cover the gap.
Access to the profession should be facilitated for qualified drivers from third countries, allowing countries with a surplus of professional drivers to help fill the gaps when needed.
