Ticking timebomb: Global driver shortage deepens

May 20, 2025

A new International Road Transport Union (IRU) report paints a deeply troubling picture of the global truck driver shortage — and it is a picture from which Africa is glaringly absent.

Surveying 36 countries across Europe, Asia, and the Americas — accounting for around 70% of global gross domestic product (GDP) — the IRU’s Global Truck Driver Shortage Report 2024 reveals an alarming shortfall of 3.6 million drivers.

While the figures appear to have plateaued since 2023, the crisis is anything but contained; more concerning for African transport operators is that the entire continent was excluded from this crucial survey. As South Africa grapples with its own transport bottlenecks, crumbling infrastructure, and rising logistics costs, the global shortage and the lessons it offers have profound implications.

Ageing workforce, shrinking future

The IRU report uncovers a widening demographic abyss in the driver workforce.
Young drivers under 25 represent just 6.5% of the total driver population across surveyed countries – a figure that dropped by nearly 6% in just one year.

Meanwhile, the proportion of drivers aged over 55 has risen to 31.6%. In Spain, Australia, and Italy, nearly half of all drivers are already nearing retirement.

The numbers are unforgiving: the report forecasts that 3.4 million professional truck drivers will retire by 2029. Without urgent action this will cripple supply chains, choking economic growth and eroding the reliability of road freight worldwide.

“Without concerted and continuing action, this demographic timebomb will explode, seriously impacting economic growth and competitiveness across the globe,” warned IRU Secretary General, Umberto de Pretto. If this is the warning for Europe, Asia, and the Americas, what then for Africa — a continent projected to double its population by 2050, but already strained by severe logistics and infrastructure challenges?

It’s not about the money

One of the report’s most surprising revelations is that salaries are not the issue: truck driver salaries remain 30 to 135% above base living costs in all surveyed regions. Moreover, job satisfaction is high, with 81% of drivers reporting being satisfied with their jobs and 57% describing themselves as very or extremely satisfied. In other words, the problem is not keeping drivers — it is attracting new ones.

Access to decent rest areas, better treatment at delivery sites, and removing barriers to entry are what drivers demand. “The issue is not retention but improving access to the driver profession and its attractiveness, especially to young people,” affirmed De Pretto.

Africa missing from the global conversation

It is a damning indictment that South Africa and the rest of the African continent were not surveyed.

Already battling ageing driver demographics and soaring logistics costs, Africa’s transport sector faces a double blow of being ignored in critical global research, despite being threatened by the same demographic precipice.

In South Africa, anecdotal evidence suggests an ageing driver base, tightening labour markets, and increasing competition for skilled operators. Without fresh policy interventions to train, attract and retain younger drivers, the sector risks grinding to a halt.

The country’s road freight industry, heavily reliant on trucks due to the collapse of rail infrastructure, simply cannot afford to follow Europe’s slow-motion crisis without preparation.

The way forward: Lessons for Africa

The IRU report recommends several key strategies to stave off disaster:

Integrate professional driving into education systems
Remove unrealistic age barriers for training and licensing
Invest heavily in safe, well-equipped parking and rest facilities
Respect and elevate the professional image of drivers

For South Africa, these lessons could not be timelier. Failure to act risks not just higher logistics costs, but serious disruptions to food supply chains, industrial output, and national competitiveness.

Meanwhile, African policymakers must insist on being included in future global studies; without data, the continent cannot prepare for a crisis that is already engulfing wealthier nations.

Time to take the wheel

The IRU’s latest report sounds the alarm bells South Africa and the rest of the continent cannot afford to ignore.

An ageing workforce, a lack of young recruits, and deep-rooted structural issues are threatening the future of global freight. Africa needs to act now – not only to avoid repeating Europe’s mistakes, but to position itself for leadership in a rapidly changing global transport landscape.

The road ahead is clear. The question is: will we take the wheel in time?