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TRAIN AND RETAIN DRIVERS • THE STRUCTURAL SHORTAGE OF TRUCK DRIVERS IS NOTHING NEW BUT IS GOING TO GET WORSE UNLESS INDUSTRY DOES SOMETHING. CEFIC AND ECTA HAVE COME UP WITH SOME IDEAS THE ISSUE OF driver shortages in the European road transport sector is nothing new: it has been a growing problem for some years now and all haulage companies have had to try and face it as best they can. The shortage emerged before the 2008 financial crisis as a result, many felt, of changes in working practices that affected drivers’ comfort levels, not least an increase in waiting times at loading and unloading sites. Drivers want to drive, not sit around twiddling their thumbs. The opening up of EU membership into eastern Europe covered the shortage up for a while, with an influx of new drivers, and it ceased to be a critical priority for many transport companies. Since then, economic
recovery and an increase in demand for transport services have revealed that the underlying issues are still there. Growing road congestion, stricter regulation, unfavourable demographics and further increases in waiting times all combined to make the idea of becoming a driver unattractive, especially for younger potential entrants. In addition, the rapid increase in e-commerce and the need for more delivery drivers has offered employees an alternative, often with a more local focus, meaning they do not have to be away from home for long periods, and a better work/life balance. During the current Covid-19 pandemic, with its associated lockdowns and social distancing, factors such as this become even more significant.
As a result, Europe’s heavy goods road transport sector is currently more than 200,000 drivers short of what it really needs and worse is to come: within the next 15 years, around 40 per cent of existing truck drivers are due to retire. STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS The issue of driver shortages has been a matter of concern for the European Chemical Transport Association (ECTA) for more than a decade; it has been working together with the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) since 2009 to try and find ways to address the problem. These have included the publication of best practice guidelines on loading/unloading activities, with recommendations on how to reduce the time spent by drivers on site and improve their treatment while they are there. That joint work has continued, culminating this year in the publication of an extensive document, Recommendations to Tackle the Impact of Driver Shortage in the European Chemical Transport. The document notes that the shortage of truck drivers is a structural issue that goes wider than Europe and affects all industry sectors, the chemical industry being no exception. However, the document says, “For our industry, this structural driver shortage is putting the entire chemical supply chain at risk. Besides increased transport costs, the service level to customers is also declining. In addition, it becomes more and more difficult to find qualified chemical drivers who are able to cope with ever more demanding legislation and site requirements. This lack of qualified truck drivers may pose safety as well as product quality risks. All of this endangers the security of supply in the European chemical industry with possible disruptions.” The guidance provided by the Cefic/ECTA document is designed to support chemical producers and their logistics service providers to improve the productivity of the drivers they already have and, by improving the attractiveness of driving in the chemical sector as a profession, to attract new employees. The document also represents a starting point from which the chemical industry, transport companies and authorities will need to work
HCB MONTHLY | OCTOBER 2020
