According to Poland’s 2026 Barometr Zawodów (Occupational Barometer – a nationwide labor market deficit and surplus monitoring system), truck drivers and articulated vehicle drivers remain among the most shortage-affected professions in nearly every region of the country. Industry portal eTransport emphasizes that this deficit spans almost all Polish voivodeships and persists despite relatively stable macroeconomic conditions.
At the same time, data from the International Road Transport Union (IRU) highlights the demographic dimension of the crisis. In Poland, drivers under the age of 25 represent only around 3% of the workforce, placing the country among those with one of the weakest inflows of young workers into the profession. Meanwhile, the proportion of older drivers continues to rise, and across Europe 17% of current drivers are expected to retire by 2029. IRU has described this trend as a “demographic time bomb.”
This means Poland is not dealing solely with a current shortage, but with a deepening generational gap. An aging workforce, insufficient numbers of young entrants, high qualification costs, long periods away from home and difficult working conditions mean the domestic labor market is currently unable to replenish the workforce at the scale required.
For years, labor shortages were partially offset by workers from Eastern Europe – primarily Ukraine and Belarus. However, the war in Ukraine, geopolitical changes, migration toward Western Europe and growing international competition for labor have made that model increasingly insufficient.
As a result, more Polish transport companies are turning toward Asia, the Caucasus and Central Asia. For many employers, labor migration is no longer an optional supplement but potentially the only realistic source of workforce replacement.
The problem is that willingness to recruit foreign workers does not solve the crisis if visa systems function too slowly.
In theory, recruiting drivers from outside the EU could partially stabilize the sector. In practice, the key obstacle remains long and unpredictable visa and legalization procedures. In transport, time is critical – contracts operate continuously, idle vehicles generate costs, and every missing driver directly reduces revenue.
For large operators, waiting months for a worker may be a strategic inconvenience. For small and medium-sized carriers, it can become an existential threat. Industry analyses cited by Logistyka.net indicate that the first half of 2025 saw more than 3,700 insolvencies among Polish transport companies, a year-on-year increase of 17.7%.
While financial pressures stem from multiple factors, workforce shortages and limited operational capacity are among the most significant.
Transport is not simply another branch of the economy – it is the infrastructure that enables nearly all others to function. If increasing numbers of transport companies begin scaling back or disappearing, the consequences will extend far beyond TSL itself.
Fewer carriers mean higher logistics costs, stronger inflationary pressure, supply chain disruptions, delayed deliveries, export inefficiencies and greater production instability. In practical terms, a driver shortage crisis can weaken the competitiveness of the entire Polish economy.
The most honest answer is: it may be one of the last major tools available, but by itself it is not enough.
Labor migration can play a decisive stabilizing role, particularly in the short and medium term. Without more efficient access to drivers from outside the EU, some transport companies may simply be unable to maintain operations. However, migration will not function as a true rescue mechanism unless administrative systems are significantly improved.
This requires:
If Poland treats migration as part of a broader labor market strategy, it could substantially reduce the driver shortage and stabilize one of its most important sectors. If visa and legalization systems remain too slow while domestic driver inflow continues to weaken, Poland risks gradually losing its position as a European road transport leader.
The key question is no longer simply whether there are enough drivers. The real question is whether Poland can build a system capable of securing them quickly enough to prevent a workforce crisis from becoming a broader economic crisis.
Today, migration may represent one of the transport industry’s final major opportunities for stabilization. But without an efficient state framework, even the strongest labor demand may ultimately lose to bureaucracy.
