The UK's Road Haulage Association (RHA) wrote to prime minister Johnson in June, warning of a critical lorry driver shortage, concluding: "It is our collective view that there has never been a more challenging time for this industry and we urge you to take decisive steps to ensure that we can continue to maintain the UK’s integrated and finely balanced supply chains.” The RHA estimated that the UK was short of over 100,000 drivers.
Fast forward to September and the lack of LGV drivers has led to significant supply problems including some petrol stations being forced to close and the potential of the military stepping in to plug the gap. As the latest Office for National Statistics data shows, the number of large goods vehicle (LGV) drivers has fallen significantly over the last couple of years, leading to an estimated 236,000 drivers compared to the 330,000 exceeded numerous times since the start of 2016.
