Klaus Wessing, chief operating officer at the European Chemical Transport Association, has warned that the shortage of chemical freight drivers that the industry experienced two years ago has not gone away. Wessing says that the recession has decreased demand for drivers, helping to hide the scale of the problem. He adds that, in Germany, industry was short of 10,000 to 35,000 drivers two years ago. The UK also faces problems with many chemical freight drivers nearing retirement age.