The British long-haul road transport crisis: Short-term fixes and long-term considerations
For once, Britain’s road freight operators, along with the suppliers, sellers and users of road-transported goods (agriculture, construction, hospitality, and retail sectors), the trade unions, and even the UK government are in unanimous agreement. There can be no denying that there is a crisis in British road haulage, which has disrupted supply chains and manifested itself to purchasers in the form of empty supermarket shelves, a limited choice of goods, a shortage of certain popular chicken products, and dwindling supplies of beer and spirits in pubs and bars. These are among the consequences of the inability of British suppliers to meet existing, and sometimes even rising, demand for their products. And it is not just bricks-and-mortar retailers who have been affected, as difficulties with timely deliveries have even caused problems for online shoppers.
Roads are the lifeline of the British economy, but they are also prone to traffic congestion and contribute to air pollution. Over the course of the 20th century, road networks largely took over from Britain’s intricate and interconnected nationwide canals and railways, which at one time even directly served factories, mills, breweries, farms, mines and other major production sites. The patterns of trade and of freight transport have changed considerably over time, especially with the advent of globalisation. Our island nation currently receives 95 per cent of its international goods traffic through its ports, and much of this tonnage is then transported on the road network, which has gradually taken over at the expense of rail freight.
A series of factors have adversely affected road freight transport on Britain’s road. First and foremost, there is a serious shortage of HGV drivers. The pool of available drivers has been sharply depleted by drivers retiring at a faster pace than they can be replaced (partly due to a shortage of testing facilities), the loss of EU drivers following Brexit, the need to self-isolate during the pandemic, unsatisfactory working conditions, and changes in payment systems (IR35 payments for off-payroll freelance workers have reduced profit margins for agency labour). The Office for National Statistics’ Labour Force Survey figures suggest that around 14,000 EU lorry drivers left the UK in the year leading up to June 2000. According to Road Haulage Association (RHA) estimates, a projected shortage in excess of 60,000 drivers just before the pandemic has now reached over 100,000. In response, both the RHA and Logistics UK have requested the issue of temporary worker visas for EU HGV drivers and for inclusion in the Home Office Shortage Occupation List.
The UK government introduced a package of measures on 20 July 2021 to address the driver shortage. The focus is on increasing the supply of UK-based HGV drivers, by maximising the testing capacity of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), recruiting extra examiners, and streamlining the test process so that one test covers both articulated and rigid lorries. The Department of Work and Pensions will provide incentives for industry leavers to return to their original jobs, while those on the National Vocational Training programme will be allowed to defer their Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) part 2 and 4 tests by twelve months. Temporary relaxation of drivers’ hours may allow longer journeys, whenever both necessary and safe to do so.
While these short-term fixes take effect, the road haulage crisis provides an opportunity to consider shifting freight traffic away from road and back to rail. The faster, more reliable, greener, and more efficient rail freight system is currently engaged in intermodal (containers) and trainload (bulk materials, such as construction materials, metals, oil) freight transport but could do more, given the political will. There is also scope to revisit the use of tidal estuaries and larger inland waterways (ship canals) for commercial purposes, such as transporting freight in the form of containers and materials for recycling. Changes to the modes and technologies of inland freight transport are necessary as we continue along the path of carbon-neutral economic development and growth.
Ashis Banerjee