Discussions within the road transport industry often lead to talk about a shortage of truck drivers, and research shows the time bomb is already ticking, with real potential for a worsening crisis.
As the evidence mounts around the issue, now is the time to act to fill the workforce gaps and avoid a decline in the productivity and safety of road freight in Australia.
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The 2024 Global Truck Driver Shortage Report released earlier this year by the International Road Transport Union (IRU) showed the extent of the driver shortage and identified the ageing workforce as a key factor. Globally, there is a widening driver age gap, with not enough young drivers entering the profession to cover the predicted 3.4 million drivers who will retire in the 36 countries studied by 2029.
According to the report, Australia is one of the countries most affected by the ageing workforce. 47 per cent of drivers in Australia in 2024 were 55 years or older, and only 5.4 per cent of drivers were under 25. The IRU report went on to project 21 per cent of Australian drivers are due to retire by 2029.
In 2024 we had 28,000 unfilled truck driving positions in Australia. Allowing for the projected retirement of over 50,000 drivers, the shortage will grow to over 78,000 unfilled positions by 2029. This outcome will cripple the supply chain.
The IRU identified this as a worrying worldwide trend, providing a clear picture of the global situation.
“The report from 2024 reaffirms that the shortage of truck drivers is a long-term structural issue that persists in all regions,” said Umberto de Pretto, IRU Secretary General.
“Of 5,100 trucking firms surveyed in 2024, up to 70 per cent, in some countries, face severe or very severe difficulties in recruiting drivers. Locally, the share of truck drivers who are over 55 is 31.6 per cent. Countries with very high percentages of older drivers include Spain at 50 per cent, Australia at 47 per cent, and Italy at 45 per cent.”
NatRoad is calling on the Australian Government to demonstrate national leadership to urgently address the driver shortage crisis and improve road safety. A Road Freight Workforce Action Plan including a National Truck Driver Standard, licensing and training reform and a consistent truck driver apprenticeship across all states and territories is critical.
The warning signs have been there for some time. Anecdotal evidence from trucking operators struggling to get people to fill drivers’ seats and finding older truck drivers are becoming an ever-growing proportion of the workforce.
In agreement with the IRU findings, Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) survey data recently released by the Fair Work Commission (FWC) provided insights into road transport industry independent contractors in 2024. The data showed the road freight transport contractor groups is older, and has relatively more workers aged 55 years and over, compared to the general workforce.
The ABS data also showed other road transport groups had a much higher percentage of younger contractors compared to road freight transport. 39 of those in road passenger transport, and 43 per cent in courier-type work were in the vital 25-34 age range, compared to just 17 per cent in road freight transport.
At the same time, both the ABS survey data and the IRU report raised another issue – our industry is highly male-dominated. The IRU report showed just 6.4 per cent of truck drivers in Australia are female.
We clearly have an issue attracting truck drivers to our industry and more needs to be done to attract a younger and more diverse workforce to sustain the industry.
When considering the ABS figures and the global results from the IRU survey, Australia is one of the countries with the biggest potential to suffer from a driver shortage. As the economy grows, the demand for road freight services grows.
The predicted global GDP growth reported by IRU will further exacerbate the problem, as higher economic output always means a higher demand for truck drivers. In Australia road freight volumes are projected to grow by 77 per cent by 2050, placing immense pressure on top of the existing shortage and impending retirement of so many of our essential truck drivers.
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