Shortage of HGV mechanics threatens UK supply chains, warns sector

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The rush to address a shortage of HGV drivers in the UK has led to a scarcity of mechanics needed to keep the lorries running and could disrupt supply chains, say industry leaders.

Logistics groups said the huge investment made over the past two years to reduce a driver shortage resulted in employers splurging on higher salaries and signing-on bonuses, which in turned encouraged mechanics to get behind the wheel and exacerbating another gap in the sector.

They warned that although the effects were yet to be seen on a large scale, the UK could soon suffer a repeat of the empty shelves that hit shops in 2021, when the country faced an acute shortage of truckers delivering goods. That year, desperate retailers including Tesco and John Lewis offered £1,000 to new drivers just for taking jobs.

Now openings for mechanics have become the most difficult to fill in the sector, according to industry group Logistics UK. A November survey of 207 members found that 54 per cent faced a “severe” problem hiring enough fitters, technicians and mechanics, compared with 35 per cent a year earlier. Over the same period, the share of companies facing difficulties recruiting lorry drivers dropped from 61 to 37 per cent.

Roy Thomas, head of maintenance at the UK arm of TIP Trailer Services, said that five years ago it would take little more than a week to fill job openings for technicians. Now the truck rental business is resorting to opening its own training facility in September as it struggles to even find interviewees.

“The industry lost a lot of technical staff. Rather than lying under the truck all day in the cold, they’ve decided to go driving,” he said.

Sarah Watkins, a deputy director at Logistics UK, said many HGV mechanics were able to drive trucks, which meant it was simple to switch careers when driver salaries soared. 

“If [a lorry] breaks down and needs servicing, and there’s a delay to do that, a vehicle off the road means goods can’t be delivered when they are expected on the shelves,” she warned. “That is when, as consumers, we [will notice].”

The difficulties faced by the logistics sector underline the UK’s broader challenge over chronic labour shortages.

Although hauliers around the world are struggling with an ageing workforce, those in the UK were particularly hit by an exodus of European drivers after Brexit. Faced with calls to increase the size of the labour pool, the government has focused on encouraging British citizens to take up new professions rather than opening the door to more foreign workers.

Even before experienced technicians jumped ship, logistics businesses said they faced difficulty recruiting new mechanics from within the UK.

Steve Cole, fleet director at Biffa, one of the UK’s largest waste collection groups, said the industry had struggled to attract school leavers as more chose to go to university or pursue technology-focused careers. The group, which employs roughly 300 technicians, currently has up to 15 per cent of those roles unfilled.

“It was obvious during Covid that waste collection is an essential service,” he said. “[But] if we cannot employ enough fitters, we have to stand vehicles down.”

In an effort to plug the labour gap, Logistics UK recently helped launch a TikTok campaign to promote jobs for young people in the industry.

But in the meantime employers are resorting to financial incentives. Average UK salaries for HGV mechanics and technicians rose 15 per cent to £41,034 between November 2021 and April this year, according to Logistics UK’s analysis of data from job site Adzuna.

But employers fear that these additional costs in the wake of driver wage rises are not sustainable.

“We’ve got a lot of competitors all fighting for the same resource. A guy might move halfway down the road for 50p more an hour,” said Cole. “We try to be as flexible as we can. But inevitably, we have a business to run. Having people moving around doesn’t solve the problem.”