One in ten European truck drivers missing as shortage escalates

Aug 08, 2023

In Europe, up to 425,000 truck driver positions, or 10% of the total, remained unfilled in 2021, forecast to jump to 14% by the end of this year. Bus and coach operators are missing 17,000 drivers, or 7% of their workforce, forecast to increase to 8% by the end of 2022.

Following IRU's annual global driver shortage survey, our detailed European report on commercial driver shortages is now available.

The report, based on a comprehensive survey of 744 road transport operators across 15 European countries, includes post COVID economic indicators for the sector, detailed figures on demographic and gender dynamics, and the main causes of the problem.

IRU will be publishing a follow-up report in October on solutions and case studies from IRU members and road transport operators in Europe and other regions.