Where they are heading: the logistics industry lacks about a million employees
The Russian logistics industry lacks about 1 million employees, which makes it one of the most scarce areas on the labor market, market participants told Izvestia. The shortage of personnel affects all levels, from drivers and storekeepers to qualified managers. Due to the shortage of personnel, companies are forced to hire young and inexperienced specialists. The situation could be improved by state support, a program of free training for category "E" in driving schools, preferential mortgages for drivers and tax benefits, experts believe. For more information, see the Izvestia article.
What kind of specialists are missing
In 2025, the shortage of personnel in logistics has become one of the key topics for the industry, as market participants informed Izvestia. About 1 million qualified employees are missing in the transportation, warehouse processing and supply chain management segment.
"This is due to the growth of domestic trade and exports, as well as the large—scale modernization of logistics infrastructure, including the construction of hubs, warehouse automation and the development of multimodal routes," said Alexey Ivanov, owner of the Alliance Trucks commercial vehicle dealership network.
The logistics sector is one of the five industries with the highest demand for personnel, the recruitment service Superjob confirmed to Izvestia. The most needed personnel are in Moscow, the Moscow region, St. Petersburg, Sverdlovsk, Novosibirsk, Rostov regions and Tatarstan.
"In August 2025, the top 5 most sought—after positions in the logistics sector of the Russian Federation included a truck driver, a picker, a transport logistics manager, a storekeeper and a loader," they said.
In addition, according to Avito Rabota, in the first half of the year, the number of vacancies for logging truck drivers increased by 129%, and for passenger cars — by 80%. This indicates a shortage of personnel in the context of the development of individual housing construction, infrastructure projects, as well as the demand for urban transportation.
In the press service hh.ru It was clarified that in July, employers were most often looking for drivers, packers and pickers, storekeepers, machinists and couriers.
In conditions of high competition for personnel, companies are increasingly attracting young and inexperienced specialists. As Izvestia wrote, warehouse logistics, as well as the delivery and cargo transportation segment, provided almost a fifth of all vacancies for employees without experience.
— Employers are forced to invest in the training and adaptation of new employees, compensating for the lack of experience with increased attention to mentoring and corporate training programs, — said Alexey Ivanov.
In Skif-Cargo transportation company, specialists aged 25-35 make up 24% of the staff — 118 people out of 491 employees.
"They hold different positions: 19 freight forwarders, 23 warehouse employees, 19 logisticians, 18 document management specialists, 18 customer service employees, five heads of separate departments, two IT specialists and 12 employees in other fields," added Eva Klimentenko, head of the company's HR department.
Recruiting services also record salary growth against the background of a shortage of personnel. So, the range of the specialty "logistics" is from 33 thousand to 500 thousand rubles, depending on the region and experience. The average median salary in January this year reached 112 thousand rubles, which is 20% higher than a year earlier. In Moscow, specialists receive an average of 120-150 thousand, in large companies — up to 200 thousand.
According to Irina Pak, HR Director of the NC Logistic logistics operator, in 2023-2024, the labor market in the logistics industry turned out to be overheated amid the intensive development of marketplaces and high warehouse congestion.
— This provoked a sharp increase in demand for staff. Despite the emerging stabilization of the personnel situation, there is still a shortage of specialists in warehouse and transport logistics," she said.
What are the logistics staff dissatisfied with?
Despite the shortage, the level of job satisfaction in the industry, according to the Dream Job platform, is 3.8 out of 5. This indicator is close to the market average, and the general attitude towards employers in the industry remains cautiously positive.
—An analysis of 30,000 reviews left from January to today shows that 26% of the positive comments relate to the stability of payments," said Konstantin Nikonov, the platform's chief operating Officer. — Together with the working conditions and the atmosphere in the team, this factor is most often mentioned among the significant ones for industry workers.
Former and current employees rated the salary level by 3.5 points. They complain about the mismatch of income levels with the amount of work, the rare payment for overwork and the lack of transparency in charges. Employees often write in their reviews: "I had to work hard, processing was rarely paid" and "Low salaries and vague prospects."
Opportunities for professional growth remain a systemic limitation. According to the staff, companies are allegedly not interested in employees gaining new knowledge and skills.
Employee satisfaction is a key factor in staff retention and the formation of a stable team, representatives of logistics companies emphasized.
—Employers are expanding their hiring approaches by considering candidates without experience and investing in training," added Artem Egorenkov, Director of the Taxi, Transport and Logistics category at Avito Jobs.
According to Irina Pak from NC Logistic, in order to cope with the shortage of personnel, they actively build cooperation with educational institutions, develop educational programs, conduct lectures and organize internships for students.
"The purpose of such events is not only to attract new employees, but also to form a real understanding of logistics among students, as well as to increase the prestige of the profession," she said.
Irina Emelianenko, head of the Office Staff Selection Department at SDEK, said that the company is increasing the attractiveness of working positions, for example, by organizing excursions to facilities and implementing joint projects with educational institutions.
Regular feedback collection helps to maintain a healthy corporate culture and strengthen common values, added Natalia Pronyakina, HR Director of the PEC.
— When employees see that their opinion is taken into account, and their comfort becomes part of the business strategy, it increases the value of the company as an employer, — she said. — Thus, working with satisfaction is not just an analysis tool, but an important part of the system that helps us retain valuable personnel.
How to overcome the personnel shortage
The personnel shortage in Russian logistics has now acquired a scale that directly affects the efficiency of the industry, said Ekaterina Kosareva, Managing partner of the analytical agency VMT Consult.
— In reality, the most reliable and efficient employees in logistics today are older specialists, 50+, with decades of experience and in—depth knowledge of processes, — she believes. — They are able to work with non-standard situations, know the real possibilities of the infrastructure and are able to make informed decisions without spending on long-term training.
Despite this, a significant part of companies is focused on mass hiring of young workers by inertia, which leads to high adaptation costs and increases the risk of mistakes.
"If the industry continues to ignore the talent potential of older workers, the shortage will only worsen," the expert believes. — A rational step would be to purposefully attract 50+ specialists while launching mentoring programs. Such an approach would simultaneously close the personnel gap and improve the reliability of the logistics system as a whole.
The forecast for the coming years is moderately optimistic, said Alexey Ivanov from Alliance Trucks. According to him, there will be a high demand for employees at all levels, especially in regions where new transport and logistics hubs are being built.
"With the further development of educational programs, stimulating the influx of young people and the introduction of automation, we can expect a gradual reduction in the severity of the personnel shortage by 2027," he said. — At the same time, according to analysts, it is the young staff, combined with the technological renewal of the industry, that will become the driver of increasing the efficiency and competitiveness of Russian logistics.
According to Dmitry Khrushchalev, Deputy General Director for Development of the Business Lines Group of Companies, problems with staff shortages require comprehensive solutions, including cooperation with government authorities. Government support, a program of free E-level training in driving schools, preferential mortgages for drivers and tax incentives for employers can increase the attractiveness of logistics professions for young people.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
