The shortage of HGV drivers in Britain is getting worse
Even more money isn’t hauling them in
BIG DAVIE MALCOLM stands six foot four in his socks. But when he climbs into a lorry cab, he moves carefully, spreading a large rag before placing his feet on it, delicate as a dancer. He doesn’t like, he says, “to dirty a man’s carpets”.
Today, he is driving coffee from Tamworth to Holyhead. The company he works for, Virginia International Logistics, carries everything from the nuts and bolts of the trucking industry (they take nuts and bolts from Birmingham to Ireland) to food, car parts, clothes and, naturally, the kitchen sink (kitchens go to Dublin).
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline "Driving: a hard bargain"
Britain July 17th 2021
- England is building more homes than it has for many years
- Opponents of housebuilding claim to care more about the environment than prices
- Britain is no longer a leader in international giving
- Achieving net-zero carbon emissions will be eye-wateringly expensive
- An amnesty for Northern Irish killers is supposed to draw a line under the Troubles
- The shortage of HGV drivers in Britain is getting worse
- Liverpool’s changing skyline defies UNESCO
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