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Charlotte Haye 3rd July 2019

6 HGV Facts You’ve Never Thought About Before (But Will Now!!)

If you drive on the motorways fairly frequently, or on normal roads for that matter, you will have seen your fair share of HGVs driving alongside you. Some of them will be branded, with big logos splashed across the side, giving you a really good idea of what they’re carrying, while others will be completely blank, leaving you wondering what’s inside. This can actually be a really good car game for long journeys – ‘guess what’s in the HGV’! The truth is that HGVs are such a common sight on UK roads that we take them for granted, not really appreciating just how much our economy, and even our own lifestyles rely on their stalwart services. So today, we’ve got 6 facts that might make you think twice about what you know about the HGV industry.

Nearly All UK Goods Are Moved By Road

Our first and perhaps most impressive fact is that 98% of all goods consumed in the UK are moved by road. That’s everything from food and drink to clothing and jewellery. Road transport is the backbone of the UK economy, and without it we would be in real trouble. Many of those items (or their component parts) may come in from overseas, which is why the haulage industry is so worried about the outcome of Brexit on their trade routes.

Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs

HGV driving and the transportation of goods provides around 600,000 jobs for UK residents. That’s 600,000 drivers currently in employment thanks to the HGV industry. Staggeringly, only 1.2% of that number are female, which means there is definitely some equality work that needs to be done. Sadly, even with those high numbers there is still a driver shortage, and logistics businesses are estimating that they will have a long delay in filling 36% of their vacancies while they find the right candidates, while 15% of their current vacancies won’t be filled at all.

Huge Haulage

Given that so much of the UK economy rests in the trailers of HGV’s, it’s probably not surprising to learn that haulage is one of the biggest employers out there too. After all, it’s not just the drivers who are involved in the haulage process. You also have people whose job it is to load and unload pallets from HGV’s and warehouses, warehouse managers, transport planners and many, many more. That means that the UK haulage industry employs around 2.5 million people in total. That number makes the haulage industry the UK’s 5^th largest employers, just behind the NHS, the military and HMRC.

Put Your Money Where Your Haulage Is

As well as being one of the biggest employers in the UK, the haulage sector is also worth a lot in its own right. At the latest estimated, the haulage industry is work £124 billion to the UK economy. So when we say the haulage industry is the backbone of our economy, we’re not exaggerating! Haulage brings in a lot of money to the UK every single year, and the numbers are only on the increase. But as uncertainty around Brexit gets worse, experts aren’t sure what the future holds for this once stable industry.

Age Ain’t Nothin’ But A Number

The HGV industry attracts a variety of people from all sorts of different demographics. We have male drivers, women drivers, drivers who used to be insurance salesmen, and drivers who have done nothing but drive since they left school. But did you know that the average age of an HGV driver is 48 years? On top of that, 13% of drivers currently working in this band are EU nationals, meaning their continued residency is not a guarantee after Brexit.

Heavy Goods Ahead

By now we all know that heavy goods vehicle stands for a lot of things. But when it comes to the heaviest of the heavy, it gets impressive. For example, there are currently 524,500 commercial vehicles over 3.5 tonnes currently registered in the UK. That’s about the same weight as an adolescent African elephant. Of those registered vehicles, 250,000 are being driven by RHA member (the Road Haulage Association), which puts a stamp on their quality as a driver.

At Easy as HGV, we pride ourselves on being the go-to place for anything HGV related. We work with people from all walks of life who have one thing in common – they want to become an HGV driver. With our help, you can understand which programme would be best for you, be guided through the training by the best instructors in the industry and supported through your tests and beyond. We eve run placement programmes to help new drivers find a job fresh out of training. There has never been a better time to become an HGV driver, so if you’re interested, just get in touch with us today.

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