We are all too familiar with the weekly ritual of grocery shopping.

Whether it's a trip to Coles, Woolworths, or ALDI, we rely on these stores to keep our pantries stocked and our fridges full.

However, an alarming situation could affect how we shop and what we find on the shelves in the coming months.

The heart of the issue lies in the driver's seat of delivery trucks.

Australia is facing a significant shortage of truck drivers, effectively threatening national supply chains.

According to the National Road Transport Association, Australia needs 26,000 new drivers to address the predicament.

The trucking industry has been dominated by an older demographic, with a small number of new drivers joining in. Image Credit: Pexels/Quintin Gellar

With New South Wales road freight requirements expected to surge by 57 per cent by 2040, the trucking industry called for national action to keep the industry afloat.

The lack of drivers could be a potential crisis for our national economy.

With supply chains being the backbone of many businesses, the entire system could collapse without enough drivers.

The trucking industry has been grappling with an ageing workforce.

According to an International Road Transport Union survey, nearly half of the truck drivers are over 55 years old.

As these drivers approach retirement, the industry struggles to onboard new drivers to take the wheel.

Only 5.3 per cent of truck drivers are under 25, and a mere 6.5 per cent of these drivers are female.

To steer the industry back into its course, trucking companies started offering incentives to make trucking an appealing career choice for the new workforce members.

The possible incentives could include:

• Funding for training programs.
• Clearer pathways into the trucking profession.
• Access to apprenticeships.
• Improving overall work conditions.

As the trucking industry faces this predicament, shoppers should be prepared for potential changes in shopping habits.

It could be time to support local stores and consider alternative sources for our groceries, such as farmers' markets or community agriculture programs.

In the meantime, let's show our appreciation for the truck drivers who keep our shelves stocked.

Without them, our weekly shopping trips would look very different.

Key Takeaways

• Australian shoppers could face empty supermarket shelves due to a shortage of truck drivers affecting supply chains.
• Australia needs about 26,000 more truck drivers across all types of businesses in the trucking industry.
• The National Road Transport Association called for national cabinet action as the driver shortage could cause a crisis for the economy.
• The trucking industry continues to face a huge age gap, and revamping the trucking industry's incentives could entice younger workers to consider trucking.

Have you noticed any changes in stock levels during your shopping trips? Share your thoughts and opinions with us in the comments below.

 

[Annna]

We also need some serious car driver education regarding behaviour around trucks, mentally this is an exhaustive job, constantly monitoring driver stupidity directly in front of us, P platers have very little concept of acceptable behaviour, this new 'brake checking' act is extremely dangerous and needs to be urgently addressed.
Most public do not realise we have 2 lots of dashcam in every vehicle.
$3000 fine for a quarter hr log book mistake is s a heinous amount of money to fined, no car driver would cop this for ANYTHING, much more than a week's wages for any of us.
Unfortunately I have seen some very unexceptable driving from professional colleagues also.

So there's blame to go round.

 

[Clancieblue]

Yet there are so many unemployed. Does center link offer any specific training programs for people needing a job. Maybe some financial assistance on top to get to training facilities or pay for courses.

 

[Annna]

Why isn't there more investment in rail for long distance movement of freight?

Since roads pose a problem (long distance movements) in terms of rogue motorists, trains may offer a solution by hauling freight over the longer routes from gate to capital cities.

Trucks could then move goods from there to stores/depots.

Would get rail infrastructure covering it's costs and offer employment.

 

[Noaddedsugar]

Does anyone remember the 'Goods Train'?

 

[philg]

Yes, some drivers are well paid, but it depends on the type of transport they are involved in. Specialised transport is considered as tankers for petrol and DG's, refrigerated pans and tautliners and time sensitive freight.
However, the general freight drivers are the worst paid.
People need to remember, every time drivers in a particular sector get a pay rise, that money has to be recouped from somewhere. That somewhere, is the community. The consumer. Then, the consumer has to pay more at the checkout. So the consumer needs to get a pay rise, due to having to pay out more from their pay check. That consumer might be a transport driver. The transport company has to increase rates to pay for pay rises. It's just a vicious, continuos circle of rate rises, freight cost increases and the high cost of operating a transport company.
Where does it all end? How does it all stop? There must come a time of "balance" where costs and expenditure have reached a point where one meets the other.
Or do we go back to the days of strikes, at the drop of the hat?
"Si vis pacem, para bellum"

yes bro the bloody unions are and have killed everything ,,strike yes strike the cost of living benefits the government has given is now taken up by the food essentuals people need ,,,,as this union or that union wants more pay but it not the members it the union head high bosses that get a greater way of the members fee,s ,,,,,,,,,,,,i worked in an industry where there was no union ,,either you worked or walked and i was up before sunrise and down to bed well after sunset in all types of weather and heat ,,,,, and some weeks there was very little pay due to stock pricing ,,,,,,yes i was a country sheep and cattle station overseer and it was bloody hard work a lot of the time ,,,,, up before sunrise get horses or motor bikes ready for days muster ,,,,and at night it was repair the things that had gone bung during the day and i can remember i was re shooing a horse at ten o,clock at night using the head light of the land rover ,,,,,,i would still be there at 75 if it was not for being tossed of a horse because of a snake and being knocked of a motor bike by a stupid kangaroo and to top it off being knocked of a 18 foot high wind mill because of a willy wind ,,,,no union to help me or other station hands ,,,,, and ,,,,,as i say at 75 i would love to still be there loved the job and life )))) by the was there are more cop,s out on the highways than there is in the crime ridden towns and cities ..........

 

[philg]

Does anyone remember the 'Goods Train'?

yes sure do but then again unions came into play

 

[Rob44]

"It could be time to support local stores and consider alternative sources for our groceries, such as farmers' markets or community agriculture programs."

Most of whom have been driven out of the market by the supermarkets' push for 24/7 shopping and machines that take our money, thus saving the costs of paying check-out chicks whilst making greater profits. There you have monopoly in a nutshell. For our "convenience". As for bus and truck drivers, you do a great job but public transport in Australia is laughable and its development is stymied by OUR demands to drive our ever-larger more powerful SUVs in slow-moving commuter jams on the way to work and back. Not to mention idiot politicians who focus solely on what local election bribes they can hand out each election to stay in their plummy jobs.

This country is good at shooting itself in the foot whilst shitting in its own nest. In that respect, it is by no means unique; it's normal human behaviour.

 

[Rob44]

Three cities with excellent harbours and airports, perhaps Australia cannot organise logistics sensibly. It certainly can't organise building railways.

 

[Rob44]

Yes, some drivers are well paid, but it depends on the type of transport they are involved in. Specialised transport is considered as tankers for petrol and DG's, refrigerated pans and tautliners and time sensitive freight.
However, the general freight drivers are the worst paid.
People need to remember, every time drivers in a particular sector get a pay rise, that money has to be recouped from somewhere. That somewhere, is the community. The consumer. Then, the consumer has to pay more at the checkout. So the consumer needs to get a pay rise, due to having to pay out more from their pay check. That consumer might be a transport driver. The transport company has to increase rates to pay for pay rises. It's just a vicious, continuos circle of rate rises, freight cost increases and the high cost of operating a transport company.
Where does it all end? How does it all stop? There must come a time of "balance" where costs and expenditure have reached a point where one meets the other.
Or do we go back to the days of strikes, at the drop of the hat?
"Si vis pacem, para bellum"

And if you don't want war, prepare for peace.

 

[Jumping Jack Flash]

As always our government is bringing yoga teachers and dog groomers instead of more practical and needed occupations. We can only congratulate ourselves on the choices we are making on election days..

Yes, congratulations to the naive Labor/Greens/Teal voters out there who gave us this catastrophe of a useless Government!

 

[Ezzy]

I was a professional driver in a 'past life'
It was eye-opening when I was driving for the NSW PTC (as it was back then) to celebrate the retirement of a older driver, and then 12 months or so later, be informed of his funeral.
Driving a heavy vehicle is stressful - not just the pressures of keeping a timetable (even the long-distance drivers are required to be somewhere at a specific-ish time), but dealing with all the other drivers on the road who are just aware that while they may be able to stop their 1.5 tonne car in 50m or 60m, it takes a *lot* longer for a bus or truck to come to a stop.
and all the numpties that try to cut down the inside when you turn left from wide, and then bitch that you scratched their car...
it's no wonder that no-one wants to drive these vehicles anymore. I'm not saying it's "all bad" - I drove for a small private bus firm in south-west Sydney, and the pax were (almost) all great!
but yeah, it's one job I don't regret leaving.

Yes. I actually saw a car trying to cut down the left hand side of a truck once in a turning lane meant only for one vehicle at a time.

My attention was drawn to this by the excruciating sound of metal being crushed. The car's left hand wheels were hard against the kerb & the driver's side up past the driver's door was wedged hard against the side of the truck. I didn't see how it ended because l was going through the lights at the time.

Don't people know that they must give trucks & buses the respect they deserve & be aware of the stopping distance needed? These vehicles don't swing wide for fun when turning. Until people drive one of these vehicles (as l have), l guess they will never truly understand these facts. Some trucks carry a sign on the rear stating that they need the left side clear when turning & keep a certain distance from the rear when parking.

 

[Jumping Jack Flash]

I do not blame the truck drivers at all ..... as ones have mentioned, the fines for an innocent mistake are ridiculous - not to mention the near impossible time limits demanded by the Supermarkets when trucks can offload their goods. Grossly unfair in my book!

 

[steamyjack]

More use of rail would improve the situation somewhat,I feel.Smaller trucks could then move product to stores from railway stations. Big semi's require tough licenses whereas smaller trucks/lorries not so hard to get.There are more drivers with such licenses,I imagine.

 

[David567]

I assume this shortage is due to the dangerous truck drivers with no respect to road rules or other drivers on the road. They have all lost the licence for their stupidity and bad attitude on the road.

 

[Rob44]

Why isn't there more investment in rail for long distance movement of freight?

Since roads pose a problem (long distance movements) in terms of rogue motorists, trains may offer a solution by hauling freight over the longer routes from gate to capital cities.

Trucks could them move goods from there to stores/depots.

Would get rail infrastructure covering it's costs and offer employment.

You said it!

Because government would have to build the railways and income taxes for the top level of town would have to go to maybe 60c in the dollar and be enforced rigorously and such as Gina Hardheart and her friends, supported by the captains of the trucking industry and our newspapers, would scream continuously about "socialism" and any government wanting to build railways, which would have to be the ALP, within 3 years would be out of office as the Australian voter is a sucker for such screaming.

NZ once had a very useful law; any freight travelling more than 40 miles had to travel by NZ Rail. It worked well until piggy Muldoon came to power and wrecked the arrangement. The NZ rail wayservice was then privatised by the NZ Labour Party, and that was that. Same with British Railways .

 

[Rob44]

Yes. I actually saw a car trying to cut down the left hand side of a truck once in a turning lane meant only for one vehicle at a time.

My attention was drawn to this by the excruciating sound of metal being crushed. The car's left hand wheels were hard against the kerb & the driver's side up past the driver's door was wedged hard against the side of the truck. I didn't see how it ended because l was going through the lights at the time.

Don't people know that they must give trucks & buses the respect they deserve & be aware of the stopping distance needed? These vehicles don't swing wide for fun when turning. Until people drive one of these vehicles (as l have), l guess they will never truly understand these facts. Some trucks carry a sign on the rear stating that they need the left side clear when turning & keep a certain distance from the rear when parking.

Ah, but we all drive our big powerful SUVs to work and back. Imagine being stuck in a traffic jam with idiots everywhere obstructing one's passage to and from one's office!

 

[Rob44]

yes sure do but then again unions came into play

Yes; $2 an hour is an adequate wage.........

 

[Rob44]

yes bro the bloody unions are and have killed everything ,,strike yes strike the cost of living benefits the government has given is now taken up by the food essentuals people need ,,,,as this union or that union wants more pay but it not the members it the union head high bosses that get a greater way of the members fee,s ,,,,,,,,,,,,i worked in an industry where there was no union ,,either you worked or walked and i was up before sunrise and down to bed well after sunset in all types of weather and heat ,,,,, and some weeks there was very little pay due to stock pricing ,,,,,,yes i was a country sheep and cattle station overseer and it was bloody hard work a lot of the time ,,,,, up before sunrise get horses or motor bikes ready for days muster ,,,,and at night it was repair the things that had gone bung during the day and i can remember i was re shooing a horse at ten o,clock at night using the head light of the land rover ,,,,,,i would still be there at 75 if it was not for being tossed of a horse because of a snake and being knocked of a motor bike by a stupid kangaroo and to top it off being knocked of a 18 foot high wind mill because of a willy wind ,,,,no union to help me or other station hands ,,,,, and ,,,,,as i say at 75 i would love to still be there loved the job and life )))) by the was there are more cop,s out on the highways than there is in the crime ridden towns and cities ..........

And that is the penalty for enjoying the work one does. There are many in assorted jobs who love the work but if they argue that their pay is inadequate for the effort and their experience, it's down the road for you (mate) as there are plenty more where you came from. As put to me by one such employer, if you are standing in shit but it keeps your feet warm...........Trade Unions can help change that attitude, as they have done for many during the last 200 years.

 

[Rob44]

Yes, congratulations to the naive Labor/Greens/Teal voters out there who gave us this catastrophe of a useless Government!

Australians gave us the catastrophes of the previous governments of the last 40 years.

 

[marni]

There goes the toilet paper. - hurry