OPINION

At the end of August it was reported in the British media that because of the shortage of truck drivers, some McDonalds restaurants could run out of milk shakes. The tone was a little humorous and light-hearted, almost with a suggestion of “imagine that”. Last month in this column, some of the issues and reasons why the industry is facing this crisis and shortage of drivers were mentioned. It now seems that the Irish Government and the trade representatives will try and get to the root of the problem. Presumably this will include the IRHA (Irish Road Haulage Association), the FTAI (Freight Transport Association Ireland), and the CILT (Chartered Institute of Transport & Logistics) and hopefully, the CTTC (Coach Tourism & Transport Council) will be included. Remember this shortage is not only confined to freight. As the bus and coach industry gets back into action there is a noticeable scarcity of drivers.

One of the dangers of this consultation is a hijacking of the process. This is a one item agenda - trucks and buses without drivers. The solution must fill these vacant seats. Of course, there are some parallel issues that may be contributing to the problem, but they should not be the main focus of any discussions.

One line of the communication from the Minster of State at the Department of Transport, Hildegarde Naughton is curious. It says “recommendations would be aimed at ameliorating the supply issue without undermining the health and safety of drivers or other road users”, possibly a reference that suggests no interference with driving hours will be tolerated or maybe a suggestion that it might be considered in a limited way. Either way, I am not sure that it would have any positive effect on the shortage problem or drivers’ conditions. Interestingly some relaxing of driver’s hours has been proposed as a solution in the UK. One UK driver’s comment was interesting: “They used to fine us and park us up for being an hour over our time, now they are giving us extra time to sit longer at RDC’s (Regional Distribution Centres)”.

It is difficult to know what level of understanding Minister Naughton, or indeed her officials, has of the problem and the issues that have led to the driver shortage. Although I was often impressed with the grasp some Ministers and officials had in their brief on transport problem that arose over the years from my involvement with the IRHA, they may be struggling here on this matter. One simple and practical solution the Minister could try would be to stop off at a few services areas on her way to the Dáil and talk to drivers. She might get some valuable insights, and this advice could be useful to individuals in the trade associations also.

“Supply chain snobbery” is sometimes evident between the upper end of planning, purchasing and the lower end of delivering service.

How bad will the driver shortage get and how will it affect consumers and the public in general? Who knows, but I don’t think anybody will go hungry. However, there is no doubt that it is biting already as shippers prioritise on the importance of what travels and what stays. It would be interesting to know where the bottlenecks are starting to appear. Wonder if containers are starting to stack up in the ports?

On a positive note in relation to delivery points in general, shrewd factory managers will soon realise that if their location becomes known as a place that discharge a truck fast and efficiently, they will get better service. The solutions are not hi-tech, implement staggered lunch breaks, with no early closing on Friday, and no closing of the goods inwards system when everybody “disappears” for meetings that seem to come out of the blue. These simple actions are part of the solution also. Finally, remember the telling question is to ask any driver “Would you like your son or daughter to follow your career path?” Therein lies most of the answer to the problem.

Driver Shortage will bite by Christmas

Text: Sean Murtagh – sean@fleet.ie All-Star Transport Training Company of the Year 2021 Transport Manager CPC

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