Driver shortage biggest challenge for transport in 2018

The driver shortage is the biggest challenge facing UK road transport in 2018, according to a Paragon Software Systems survey.

46.4 per cent of respondents said that the lack of drivers and other skilled workers across the industry was the biggest barrier to success – up by 36.8 per cent compared to last year’s survey results.

The second biggest issue for the industry was transport costs at 13.4 per cent, followed by congestion at 7.2 per cent, and urban transport restriction at 6.2 per cent.

The most significant planning pressures were identified as the need to compare planned routes against actual performance (46.4 per cent), and demand for more accurate time windows (45.4 per cent)

William Salter, managing director of Paragon Software Systems said: “The road transport sector continues to face considerable challenges around resource management and service delivery. The findings of our customer survey highlight the importance of using routing and scheduling software to help manage all available drivers and vehicles at an individual resource level. This means that logistics operations can mitigate the impact of driver and skills shortages, as well as meet the increasing expectations of customers.”