Europe's Truck Driver Shortage: 600,000 Missing — And It's Getting Worse

The Numbers Behind Europe's Driver Shortage

According to the International Road Transport Union (IRU) 2024 report, Europe is short approximately 600,000 truck drivers. This isn't just a statistic — it determines when your online order arrives, what groceries cost, and how European industry keeps running.

Why Is the Gap So Large?

Three main factors explain the shortage:

1. An Aging Workforce

The average European truck driver is 47 years old. New entrants to the profession are far outnumbered by those retiring. By 2030, an estimated one-third of active EU drivers will have reached retirement age.

2. Few Young Entrants

Getting a CE license takes 4–8 months and costs €4,000–8,000. That's a significant barrier. The profession is also widely associated with long nights, solitary roads and low prestige — not entirely accurate, but hard to shake.

3. Post-Covid Attrition

During the pandemic, many drivers left the sector and found work elsewhere. Logistics never fully recovered from that exodus.

Countries Most Affected

Country

Estimated shortage

Note

|---------|-------------------|------|

Germany	~100,000	Most severely affected
France	~45,000	Active state training programme
Poland	~120,000	Major EU driver exporter, but own gap is growing
Romania	~60,000	Many drivers work in Western Europe
Hungary	~30,000	CE driver salary: €2,000–3,200/month

Poland and Romania traditionally "export" drivers to Western Europe — but their own shortages are growing as domestic wages catch up.

What This Means for Drivers

The news is clearly positive: the shortage pushes salaries up and improves bargaining power. Some figures:

In Germany, a CE + ADR driver earns gross €3,000–4,200/month
In Norway, the average is €3,400–4,400/month
In Switzerland, CHF 5,000+/month is achievable
In Hungary, the CE tier domestically reaches €2,000–3,200/month

The shortage will not ease in the short term. Anyone who gets a CE license now is entering a market where they have the supply-side advantage.

What Companies and Governments Are Doing

Training subsidies: France, the Netherlands and Romania offer state-funded licence support. Some Hungarian companies cover full training costs in exchange for a contract. Higher wages: Competition for drivers has pushed up starting salaries. Pay rises of 10–20% in the past two years are not uncommon. Attracting women: Only 3.1% of EU drivers are women. Several initiatives aim to push that share to 8–10% by 2030. Automation: Self-driving trucks are nowhere near solving the shortage — mass autonomous freight on EU roads before 2030 is not expected. The driver profession is safe through the end of this decade.

What to Expect by 2030

The IRU estimates the driver shortage could reach 740,000 by 2030 if current trends continue. That puts 7–10% of EU freight at risk.

The solution is complex: attract more young people, simplify licence acquisition, improve working conditions, and use digital tools (route planning, fatigue monitoring) to make the job more appealing.

Summary

The driver shortage is not a temporary blip — it's structural. This is both a challenge for the logistics industry and an exceptional opportunity for anyone entering the profession today. Demand is not falling: e-commerce, food supply and industrial transport all depend on trucks.

If you're looking for a driving job in Europe, your negotiating position is the strongest it's been in 20 years.