HGV Driver Shortage Continuing to Increase
According to the latest government figures, the HGV driver shortage in the UK has increased. It has been revealed that the proportion of HGV businesses reporting HGV driver vacancies in quarter 4 2025 was 26%, an increase of 2% compared to quarter 4 2024.
As the number of UK truck drivers continues to dwindle, the situation is expected to worsen if no major steps are taken to encourage more people to join the HGV industry. The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has admitted that the transport industry is unable to convince young people to stay in the industry.
What is causing the lack of new drivers?
There are several reasons for the HGV driver shortage in the UK. The lack of new HGV drivers stems from an ageing workforce, expensive licensing costs, reduced government funding for training, and demanding working conditions. These structural issues have created a pipeline problem, even as the industry moves further away from the struggles of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to gov.uk, the three most common reasons for vacancies were ‘better pay or benefits elsewhere’, ‘existing drivers leaving industry’ and ‘driver retirement’ – each was reported by around a third of UK businesses.
A major issue is caused by young drivers leaving the industry shortly after attaining their certificates. According to the Transport Operator, the circumstances suggest that it’s due to generally low incomes, poor working conditions, long working hours, and a lack of promising incentives.
According to Lanes Group, less than 2% of HGV drivers in the UK are aged under 25. As a result, the average age of HGV drivers is 51 to 53 years old.
What is the shortage of HGV drivers leading to?
The lack of experienced HGV drivers is resulting in lots more missed deliveries, causing issues for UK businesses.
Gov.uk states that the proportion of HGV businesses with driver vacancies reporting missing deliveries due to drivers not being available was 23% in quarter 4 2025, an increase from 14% in quarter 1 2025. This remains lower than the peak of 30% seen in quarter 4 2021.
Can competitive salaries improve the HGV industry?
As one of the leading causes of the HGV UK driver shortage, businesses are making attempts to improve salaries.
The proportion of HGV businesses reporting increasing wages for their HGV drivers in the preceding three months was between 11% and 26% during 2025 – comparable to the proportions seen in 2024.
Of those businesses that increased wages, the median increase per hour remained around £1 in 2025, except in Q2 2025 where it decreased to £0.75.
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