Have you heard of the forklift truck driver shortage?

Everyone seems to have heard about the lack of HGV drivers across the UK, but most people aren’t aware there’s a forklift driver shortage too. That may not sound too serious, until you consider how essential they are in maintaining order within busy warehouses.

The impact of Brexit and Covid
Just as with the HGV driver shortage, it’s thought that a significant number of forklift truck drivers have returned to Europe following Brexit. A report by Logistics UK indicates that just short of 80,000 EU nationals departed the logistics industry in the UK during 2019, with around 7,000 forklift drivers contributing to the mass exodus.

The Covid pandemic helped to fuel the departure of European drivers as lockdowns took hold. Add into the mix higher than usual levels of absenteeism in the industry caused by sickness, and it comes as less of a surprise that the UK is facing a shortfall of around 25% of its skilled forklift truck operators.

The government’s decision to limit the ability of European workers to work within the UK means that this situation is almost certain to become worse in the long term. Some major companies have opted to replace their forklift trucks with automated vehicles, but that requires considerable financial investment, which is something smaller businesses simply can’t afford in the current economic climate.

The rising costs of warehousing and storage

Thanks to the laws of supply and demand, a lack of forklift drivers is pushing wages ever higher. The demand for trained forklift operators is so great that businesses are having to compete for them by offering above-average salaries. When considered alongside the spiralling costs of heating and lighting a warehouse, it’s clear to see that budgets are being stretched almost beyond their limits.

Labour costs already account for a significant proportion of warehousing costs. So, it comes as no surprise to discover that many business managers are facing sleepless nights worrying about how they’re going to cope in these challenging times.

But maybe your business would be better off without a warehouse at all. Thanks to GenRev’s Just in Time distribution service all the parts needed for that day’s work can be delivered to your technicians and field service engineers exactly when they’re needed.

Our drivers travel through the night to make sure your parts are delivered directly to your workforce before the start of every working day. Your business saves on warehousing and storage costs, whilst still providing your customers with a quick and efficient service, giving you one less thing to worry about!

Warehousing is a costly overhead, and the lack of forklift truck drivers means that warehousing costs are almost certain to rise. GenRev’s Just In Time services will ensure you have the parts you need, when you need them, getting to your field engineers on time, so they can fix urgent customer repairs.

Avoid unnecessary warehousing costs with GenRev. Contact us to find out more about the benefits of our Just In Time services.