Data from the Department for Transport (DfT) and Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that 301,600 HGV drivers were employed in 2017, with 210,000 drivers recorded in Microlise systems over the same period.

That equates to a significant 70% of the UK HGV driving community engaged with Microlise telematics over the year, it claims.

The number of drivers recorded by Microlise systems have increased considerably compared to 2016, due to the renewal of major contracts and several significant new business wins, including major brands such as Eddie Stobart Logistics.

The Government data was released in the form of the DfT's Domestic Road Freight Statistics report, which also highlighted that in 2017:

• 147 billion tonnes of goods were moved, down 1% compared to 2016.
• 18.6 billion kilometres were travelled, down 3% compared to 2016.
• The average length of haul remained almost constant year on year.
• Road freight contributed £12.4 billion to the UK economy.
• There were 51,334 road freight enterprises operating, up 15% compared to 2015.
• Goods lifted by hauliers and third party logistics providers increased 1% whilst goods lifted by own account operators reduced 7%.
• The average fleet size grew 35% from 3.7 vehicles to 5 vehicles.
• 99% of UK HGV drivers were men.
• There were 155 million HGV journeys within the UK.
• 89% of these journeys began or ended at a shipping dock.

“We’re proud to see that such a large proportion of the driving community is engaged with Microlise systems,” said Nadeem Raza, chief executive officer at Microlise.

“With significant fleets joining our customer-base in 2017, alongside the renewal of existing major customers, we have seen significant growth in market share.

“Our focus remains on product innovation to ensure we continue to provide operators with world-class solutions that help them reduce costs and environmental impact while increasing efficiency and safety standards.”