[Euro2day]: Shortage of 8,000 truck drivers in Austria

There are already many trucks that remain stationary because of staff shortages. Because the situation will worsen.

The Austrian Chamber of Commerce points out the lack of up to 8,000 truck drivers in the country, warning at the same time of a worsening of the situation, as, of the approximately 100,000 holders 20% of the relevant leave is to be retired within the next ten years.

“There are already a lot of trucks in Ano Styria that remain stationary because there is a shortage of staff,” said Petros Farner, president of the Freight Transport Division of the Chamber of Commerce in the state of Styria in southern Austria.

For Horst Sachner, president of the Styrian Transport Union, there is a central lever to make the profession more attractive to the next generation: “the only thing that helps is to reduce working hours,” he told the Kleine Zeitung.

In the same newspaper, Marcus Ebner, CEO of Gebrunder Weiss in Maria Zaal, Carinthia, says the company could employ another 20 to 25 truck drivers, which if accepted could accept 30 to 40 % more orders.

In the UK, many truck drivers from mainland Europe have settled in the country due to Brexit, and it is estimated that there is currently a shortage of 100,000 drivers, leading to problems with the supply of goods.