National fuel carrier Lowes Petroleum is investing heavily in its fleet in a bid to attract and retain drivers.
It is just one of the strategies transport operators across Australia are looking at to address the skills shortage the industry is facing.
Since the end of 2021, Lowes Petroleum has taken delivery of six new prime movers.
Across the next two financial years it will receive a further 44 prime movers, marking the business' biggest fleet replacement since 2015.
Australian Trucking Association chairman David Smith said the transport industry was really struggling to find drivers.
Mr Smith said the problem was extreme and the industry was up against it on a number of fronts.
He said there were no skilled operators looking for a job and many transport operators could not compete against the wages and shift combinations offered by the resources sector.
"It's not just the transport industry, it's across the whole board almost, it's quite amazing the lack of skilled staff," Mr Smith said.
"There's no short term fix here; it was a problem before COVID but COVID has underlined it big time and really exposed quite a sore nerve."
Lowes Petroleum head of fleet and compliance Jake Myler said the fleet upgrade would ensure the company remains a tier one fuel deliverer and transporter.
"The fuel industry is highly competitive so obviously foremost the fleet upgrade will ensure we remain competitive, maximising our own road transport efficiency and maintenance downtime," Mr Myler said.
"This fleet upgrade also goes a long way to not only retaining the drivers we have but recruiting to the industry.
"It's also about attracting women to the industry, as these vehicles are more responsive."
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Mr Myler said the Volvo FM units offer the latest technology in safety features and driver comfort.
"Technology with heavy vehicles, particularly in the safety space, has come a long way in the last five years," he said.
"This model offers adaptive cruise control, as well as forward collision warning and emergency breaking.
"It also comes with lane departure warning and lane change support: all of which increase the safety of our drivers and other road users."
Alex Connell is one of the company's 250 drivers and has been with Lowes Petroleum for the past eight years.
He said the enhanced driver comfort meant ending a 10-hour shift feeling significantly more refreshed than in the older vehicles.
"Nothing takes away from the safety features of course, but there has been a lot of thought to the cab, providing more space for storage," Mr Connell said.
"When you spend so much time in the truck it is some of those finer features and clever thinking that also create a better environment for the driver."
Mr Smith has also ordered new trucks for his business Smith Haulage, which operates out of Tumby Bay, South Australia.
He said as a rural carrier they had been fortunate over the past 50 years to have avoided driver shortages.
However, this was no longer the case and at times he has had to park trucks due to a lack of drivers.
Finding good livestock drivers was proving particularly difficult for the industry.
"We're all looking at our vehicles, we're all looking at our own workplaces," Mr Smith said.
"We're looking at what we can do to make conditions more attractive to drivers, in particularly younger skilled drivers.
"Doubling wages won't solve problems longer term if your fleet and culture is less than savoury."
Mr Smith said training was also big issue but something he hoped would be alleviated under a plan set in motion by Road Safety and Freight Transport Assistant Minister Scott Buchholz.
"He's paved the way at a federal level to introduce a traineeship for truck drivers," Mr Smith said.
"There's still a fair bit of work and it flows down to state jurisdictions now but the focus is to target school leavers with a genuine apprenticeship.
"It will be competency-based not age-based, heavily supervised and produce skilled workers of the same calibre."
Mr Myler said the trucking and logistics sector was a viable career path.
"Not everyone wants to go to university or is suited to a trade," he said.
"Many of our drivers have had rewarding career journeys through trucking and have seen parts of the country few have seen.
"There have been significant inroads by the industry to promote the professionalism of drivers across Australia."
This story is part of our ongoing Pay Day series which explores the challenges around labour shortages currently impacting all sectors of agriculture.
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