In recent years, the logistics and transport sector has undergone profound transformations. Digitalization, automation, production reshoring, and new customer expectations are redefining corporate operating models. However, a much more practical critical issue exists that many companies face daily: the difficulty of finding labor.
Drivers, warehouse operators, and operational staff—fundamental figures for the functioning of the supply chain—have become increasingly difficult to find in recent years. According to data from the Excelsior information system of Unioncamere and the Ministry of Labour, in January 2026 alone, Italian companies planned over 526,000 entries into the labor market, but nearly 46% of these positions are difficult to fill.
The logistics sector represents a significant portion of this demand: approximately 62,000 expected entries in January alone, accounting for about 12% of the national total. This figure confirms how the logistics sector has become one of the primary employment engines of the economic system. Yet, it simultaneously highlights an increasingly evident problem: finding people willing to perform these jobs is becoming more complex.
Analyzing the most requested professional profiles in the sector in detail reveals a clear fact: truck drivers are among the most sought-after figures in the entire logistics industry. Recent estimates indicate over 15,000 planned hires for freight truck drivers and more than 24,000 for motor vehicle drivers overall.
The real problem, however, is not the demand for labor. The problem is finding candidates. In some cases, the difficulty in recruitment exceeds 58%, one of the highest percentages among all professions analyzed in the Italian labor market. This means that more than one in two positions remains vacant despite corporate demand.
The causes are varied:
High costs to obtain professional driving licenses
Working conditions perceived as demanding
Long periods away from home
A lack of generational turnover
The result is growing tension in the labor market. According to some industry estimates, Italy is already short tens of thousands of professional drivers, and in the coming years, the problem could worsen as many drivers nearing retirement exit the workforce.
While the shortage of drivers represents the most obvious crisis, the world of warehousing is also beginning to show similar signs. In the storage and goods handling sector, thousands of new personnel requests are recorded every month: over 11,000 positions for warehouse workers and more than 26,000 for operational staff involved in moving goods.
In this case, the difficulty of recruitment is lower compared to transport but remains significant. The reason is simple: the expansion of e-commerce, the growth of frequent deliveries, and the transformation of distribution models have enormously increased the demand for logistics activities. Consequently, the need for warehouse personnel is also growing.
Many companies find themselves managing a paradoxical situation: logistics volumes are increasing and business opportunities are present, but the people needed to manage these flows operationally are missing.
Reducing the labor shortage to a simple matter of wages would be a mistake. The phenomenon is much more complex and rooted in demographic, cultural, and organizational factors. Among the main elements, we can identify:
Aging Workforce: Many currently active drivers have a high average age, and generational turnover is limited.
Professional Entry Barriers: Driving heavy vehicles requires specific courses and professional qualifications that demand time and financial investment.
Changing Work Expectations: Younger generations show a lower propensity toward operational jobs perceived as physically demanding.
Expansion of Logistics Demand: E-commerce, omnichannel distribution, and rapid deliveries have increased staffing needs.
The result is an increasingly evident imbalance between labor supply and demand.
Labor shortages are often perceived as a crisis internal to logistics operators. In reality, the impact extends to the entire chain. When operational staff is lacking, the consequences are immediate:
Reduction in transport capacity
Longer delivery times
Increased pressure on logistics costs
Difficulties in activity planning
In a supply chain increasingly based on frequent deliveries and inventory reduction, even small slowdowns can generate ripple effects throughout the entire chain. For this reason, the labor issue directly concerns industrial companies as well. Ensuring the availability of operational resources is becoming a true strategic lever to maintain the continuity of logistics flows.
Faced with this situation, logistics operators are adopting several strategies, including:
Increased investment in training
Improvement of working conditions
Use of technology to reduce manual activities
More efficient planning of operations
However, in many cases, these initiatives are not enough to bridge the gap between personnel supply and demand. Consequently, many companies are starting to adopt more pragmatic approaches to resource searching.
One increasingly common solution involves searching for workers from international contexts. In the logistics sector, the presence of foreign workers is already significant and represents a structural component of operational chains.
In various corporate contexts, concrete solutions are being tested to expand recruitment channels. In the case of transport, for example, some companies are evaluating the recruitment of drivers from non-EU countries where there are pools of workers interested in pursuing this profession. One example is represented by workers from Argentina: thanks to the strong presence of Italian descendants, many can more easily access Italian citizenship or simplified administrative paths, facilitating entry into the labor market and integration into the corporate context.
In other cases regarding warehouse activities, recruitment channels linked to foreign communities already present in Italy are being utilized. When logistics sites are located in hard-to-reach areas or have limited local labor availability, some companies are introducing further measures, such as providing temporary housing or organizing Italian language courses to promote integration and communication within operational teams. These initiatives require investment and planning but are proving to be effective tools for addressing a now-structural crisis in the sector.
For years, logistics was interpreted primarily as a matter of infrastructure, vehicles, and technology. Today, it is increasingly clear that the human factor remains central. Without drivers, warehouse operators, and operational staff, even the most modern infrastructure and advanced IT systems are not enough to guarantee the functioning of the supply chain.
For this reason, labor recruitment is becoming a strategic issue for corporate competitiveness. Companies that succeed in developing organizational models capable of attracting, training, and integrating new resources will have a significant competitive advantage in the coming years. For entrepreneurs and supply chain managers, the question to ask today is no longer just how to optimize logistics flows, but rather: who will operationally guarantee those flows in the future. The resilience of the supply chain does not only depend on systems and infrastructure; it depends above all on the people who make it work every day.
