The landscape in the UK’s logistics sector has been evolving quickly over the last couple years. Instability caused by HGV driver shortages, Brexit, supply chain delays and the global pandemic has resulted in a number of government-backed measures being implemented to help the sector cope.

Adverse industry conditions like these often lead to innovation and according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS) – the transport and logistics industry is leading the way in terms of new businesses opening up. This is being driven by the boom in courier and postal services.

Growing Faster Than Any Other Industry

Outstripping the retail, construction and manufacturing industries, the ONS study has shown that the logistics sector has expanded more quickly than any other. Soaring sales from a UK public that has been conditioned by lockdowns to primarily shop online mean that more and more goods are needing to be delivered.

The figures bear this out, as they show that the total number of transport firm premises has increased by 88% over the course of the last 11 years. That said, 21% of this increase has occurred since 2019 – despite the tumult caused by Covid-19 and Brexit. Online consumer demand needed to be meet and the industry has reacted.

Postal & Courier Operations Outperform Overall Logistics

The reasons mentioned about the surge in new logistics business premises were recently echoed by David Jinks, Head of Consumer Research at ParcelHero – a Brentford-based UK company that operates in the courier and express delivery sector. He had this to say about the ongoing surge:

“The growth in new premises for postal and courier operators in particular has outstripped any other area of any industry, and even outperformed the overall logistics sector growth.

Since 2011, the number of postal and courier depots and distribution centres has grown by an astonishing 147%, as Covid restrictions fuelled a surge in demand for home deliveries”.

The Surge Is Not Though Reflected in Rates of Pay

While the described surge would seem to be good news for those employed in last-mile delivery and courier work, it hasn’t been reflected in the hourly earnings available within the niche. Hourly rates are below the national average, with couriers and HGV drivers working almost 42 hours a week, compared to the UK average of 39.

This, according to Jinks, is due to fewer positions being created by this explosion than expected. While the number of business premises has doubled over the last decade, the workforce has only grown by 20% over the same period.

Jinks cites increased automation and other leading-edge technologies as the reason behind this fact, with warehouse management software and sophisticated features like ‘voice picking’ increasing speed and efficiency while reducing the need for manual labour.

Supporting the Sector with Industry-Leading Programs

At HGVC, we understand the challenges faced by all parts of the logistics industry, as we’re immersed in it as part of our day-to-day work. Evolutions like this are a natural consequence of the sector doing its utmost to and serve the UK’s public and businesses effectively.

Whatever form the UK’s haulage industry takes over the coming years, we will continue to support it by providing scalable, industry-leading HGV licence acquisition programs via our wide network of training centres across the country.

To find out more about us and how we work, you should take a look around our website. Alternatively, to get in touch, simply click on ‘contact us’ or call us on 0330 818 8888 today where a member of our team will be happy to discuss your driver training needs.