So it is more than pay which would be relatively essay to solve (if expensive). I noticed that the ministers talk about truckers in a futile and pathetic attempt to sex up the job. It seems like a major overhaul in the structure of the supply chain is needed. The hours are too long, the stop over sites are almost medieval, regulations need looking at again. I think that maybe there are too many trucks and the system is bust!
In the days of computers it should surely be possible to organise rail freight transfers overnight and increase distance efficiency rather than economic efficiency. My local shop has to get Thatchers Cider from Avonmouth as the company will not supply despite being less than 1km away. There must be thousands of cases like this – Cornish potatoes being transported to London for sale, only to find they are then transported back to e.g. Plymouth supermarkets. I guess making it more expensive to transport would eventually have the desired effect.