Investment in targeted training and recruitment is needed to address continued labour shortages and potential supply chain disruption, a new report by Logistics UK has warned.
The trade group’s annual analysis of compliance trends in the logistics sector and commercial vehicles showed that at the start of 2025, the UK’s active HGV driver workforce had fallen to 293,714, a decline of 1.9% from 2024.
The fall was largely driven by a reduction in British-born drivers currently working across the UK which were down 4.5% (12,183 drivers).
“Without logistics, the UK economy would grind to a halt,” said Logistics UK’s acting chief executive Kevin Green, “but our research shows that the HGV sector, which delivers much of what the economy relies on every day is facing a declining workforce, ageing demographics and training gaps.”
Green criticised the government’s decision to stop national funding for the HGV Skills Bootcamps programme, an initiative he described as “very effective in attracting career switchers and the unemployed”. It trained over 20,000 drivers with a 72% job placement rate. “Our sector is the lifeblood of the UK’s economy and deserves to be invested to futureproof our workforce,” Green said.
The report found that the long-term trend toward consolidation and increased market dominance of large operators has continued. During the past decade the number of GB operator licences has fallen by 12.4%, while the number of vehicles specified on licences has increased by 9.4%.
The study said this reflects a trend towards fewer operators managing larger fleets and suggests larger operators are likely to be better equipped to weather economic volatility, adapt to regulatory changes and invest in fleet modernisation.
Logistics UK said compliance standards are improving, with the initial MOT failure rate for HGVs decreasing from 32.4% in 2008/09 to 10.3% in 2024/25, and the final failure rate dropping from 17.7% to 6.9% over the same period.
Writing the report’s foreword, senior traffic commissioner, Kevin Rooney, said non-compliance incidents are the “exceptions rather than the rule” and the report “highlights the high standards that the vast majority of operators consistently maintain”.
Kevin Green added: “Compliance is a critical subject and will always be at the heart of everything we do in our industry. The positive trends highlighted in the report show how seriously operators take their responsibilities and reflect a combination of cultural change and operational improvements as well as changes to regulatory requirements.
“There are still challenges ahead, especially in the area of skills and the sector needs a coordinated approach to recruitment. On behalf of our members, we are pressing the government to work with industry to support alternative training pathways to recruit, and address working conditions that affect retention, both of which are critical for stabilising and building resilience into the sector.”