The severe shortage of professional drivers is rapidly reshaping the European road transport market, and Romania is no exception. In 2026, around 900 Asian truck drivers will come to work in our country.
Road transport remains one of the hardest hit, with an estimated shortage of tens of thousands of professional drivers.
The acute shortage of manpower in the transport industry is prompting hauliers to turn to foreign workers. So from this year onwards, Asians will not only be doing deliveries, but will also be seen behind the wheel of heavy goods vehicles. About 900 Asian truck drivers are expected to enter the local market.
The recruitment of Asian truck drivers is coordinated by Work from Asia, which signed a special agreement with the Philippine government last year to bring 3,000 truck drivers to Romania. This is one of the largest partnerships of its kind so far.
900 of them will come to Romania in 2026. 600 come from the Philippines and the remaining 300 from other Asian countries, mainly Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Nepal.
"For 2026, we are expanding the recruitment of truck drivers to other countries in Asia. In addition to the Philippines, we will also recruit from Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Nepal"he told The Truth Yosef Gavriel Peisakh, General Manager at Work from Asia.
In Romania, non-EU TIR truck drivers earn between €850 and €1,500, while the EU average is between €2,300 and €2,500.
Experience to date confirms the viability of this recruitment model, he says.
"Filipino drivers have integrated very well. Most of them are already on international assignments in the EU, they recommend each other and we have a growing number of applicants"said Yosef Gavriel Peisakh.
The expansion of recruitment is taking place in the broader context of Romania's labor market, which is increasingly dependent on non-EU labor.
For 2026, the government has approved a new quota of 90,000 foreign workers to cover the shortfall in key sectors such as transportation, construction, HoReCa and manufacturing.
