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Age gap widens further: young drivers down 5.8%, older drivers up 1.6%.
IRU’s latest global truck driver shortage report is out. While unfilled positions in 2024 were similar to 2023 due to easing transport demand, alarming figures show a widening age chasm between young and older driver employment rates. But salaries and job satisfaction remain high.
IRU’s 2024 global truck driver shortage report has found that 3.6 million positions remain unfilled in 36 countries studied representing 70% of global GDP. This is a similar level to 2023, primarily due to easing transport demand over that period.
The report however reaffirms that the shortage of truck drivers is a long-term structural issue that persists in all regions. Of 5,100 trucking firms surveyed in 2024, up to 70% in some countries face severe or very severe difficulties in recruiting drivers.
Widening age chasm
Underlying structural demographic trends are increasingly alarming, notably a widening chasm between younger and older drivers.
Young drivers under 25 make up 6.5% of the total driver workforce.1 Some countries have critically low rates, including Italy and Germany at 2.2% and 2.6% respectively. Poland and Spain are not much better at 3% each.
Unfortunately, the trend is downward. The percentage of young truck drivers compared to all drivers fell by 5.8% from 2023 to 2024.2 This is despite the reverse trend being witnessed in the overall workforces of the countries studied, with young workers up by 1.4%.3. Read more
Source: IRU
