The ‘Future of the Driver‘ was the topic of a talk at IAA – where are drivers headed?
New Zealand isn‘t the only country dealing with a shortage of professional truck drivers, as a talk given by
The shortage of professional drivers in the transportation industry is having a negative impact on business in Germany and Europe. The lack of drivers increasingly slows the smooth transportation and timely delivery of raw materials and goods, and the progress in vehicle technology in assistance systems and in the digital network of the logistics chain requires a higher level of training for drivers.
Holger Mandel, chairman of the MAN Truck & Bus Deutschland board of directors, captured the harsh reality in a nutshell.
“Germany is seeing 30,000 drivers a year retire,” he said. “And they are being replaced by only 16,000 drivers per year.”
He paints the picture for this Christmas to come: “Punctual delivery of parcels and packages could be a problem.”
Germany currently has a deficit of 45,000 drivers and Mandel predicts that it could soon be 100,000, and maybe even 200,000 in the future. He said transportation is the backbone of the economy and the shortage was an enormous challenge for everyone involved.
“When drivers in Brazil were on strike, the shops were empty after just a few days.”
Policymakers, truck industry, logistics, drivers, federations, and practitioners took part in the
“The situation on the roads, in parking lots, and in sanitary facilities is almost degrading,” he said.
Policymakers were calling for regulations and an image campaign aimed at improving the way drivers were seen.
Logistics service provider Hubertus Kobernuß said it could not just be down to driver wages, as drivers today could earn good money.
“The drivers of today are ideally supposed to be chemists, legal experts, engineers and a few things more,” he said.
Jörg Mannsperger from Dekra Akademie urgently recommended “not making the barrier to entry too high” as it could make the shortage worse.
There was
The conclusion was there were no simple solutions for the shortage of drivers. The issue required close collaboration that went far beyond the logistics industry.
“We need a