As the relocation company is forced to raise prices, the cost of moving is rising Difficulties in hiring drivers.
According to operators, some moving companies have increased prices by 25%, which is in line with the wages levied to retain and attract workers In fierce competition For those who have a professional truck license.
Angus Elphinstone, CEO and founder of AnyVan, stated that due to strong demand for trucks, prices across the industry have risen by 10-15% Continue to exceed the June peak Before the end of stamp duty relief.
He said that demand increased by 200% in June and since then, interest in moving has not diminished as expected. “In our experience, the shortage is not only due to Overwhelming demand for movers,” he said. “We have seen that after Brexit, many relocation teams left the UK for Europe, resulting in a decline in the number of available people. “
The operators of several moving companies confirmed that due to the shortage of drivers, they were forced to increase the prices of their customers by 10% to 25% and were unable to keep up with demand.
Mark Chudley of Chudley International, a moving company, said that in order to attract more drivers, he has increased his salary by at least 25%, but due to a shortage of drivers, he can still only complete about half of the expected number of jobs that year.
“Demand is still greater than capacity,” he said. “In August we will also reduce the number of employees during the holidays. I think it will continue for the rest of the year, although it will not be as bad as June.”
Cicero Almeida, head of Dumond, a transport company based in South London, said he could have done at least 30% more work if he had a driver. He raised wages by 25% to 30%, but said the industry is struggling to get qualified workers.
“HGV drivers have many choices where to work. They can go to deliver goods or drive garbage trucks or cement trucks without having to do heavy work,” he said.
Almeida said that he was forced to increase prices for customers because not only did he have to increase the wages of drivers, but also because of increased demand for home delivery and difficulties in importing, the cost of cartons and packaging tape has also inflated. Due to the shortage of shipping containers. He said that because it is more difficult to arrange transportation, the company has to store more items shipped overseas.
But Matt Faizey of the M&G Central Region Moving and Warehousing Department said that although he had to increase the driver’s wages (including bonuses) by about 8% this year, he failed to increase prices for customers outside of the busy June period.
“Salary increases are still going on and it will have an impact on profits.” He said he could not raise prices because there is a lot of competition among unlicensed “truck-owners” operators, their vehicles are smaller, and they are willing to accept them at a low price. jobs.
