The Wall Street Journal
Jun 28, 2022 - 13 min
All in 1 subscription.
What drives them? Every day, HGV drivers forfeit comfort, and relationships, to keep the rest of us stocked and supplied. Though we rely on lorry drivers, we’re running out of them. Will Coldwell tags along with an on shift British lorry driver to understand the logistics crisis that centres around a lack of drivers. ”At his previous job Davies earned £600 ($820) a week after tax, working five nights a week and Saturday mornings. Today he can pull in more than double that, though he’s at the high end of the pay scale. Haulage companies are also offering cash incentives for drivers to join and the government has promised to improve truck stops. But it could take years – a generation, thinks Davies – to plug the gap. Few people want to become lorry drivers. Even fewer want to become trampers. As Davies says: “It’s not a job, it’s a lifestyle.”