The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) has warned of a severe driver shortage, which it says could impact on the supply of goods across the country in the weeks leading to Christmas.
The organisation's annual conference heard calls for urgent intervention to assist the sector.
Speaking at the event in Galway, the IRHA President said the knock-on consequences of staffing issues would be far reaching.
Ger Hyland contends that higher prices, delayed deliveries and a wider lack of certainty are all on the cards, if measures to recruit hundreds of new drivers are not fast-tracked.
The association estimates that an additional 4,000 heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers need to be recruited over the next five years, to ensure an adequate provision of services.
It has called on the Government to take action to reduce the time and cost for those seeking HGV licences.
The IRHA says prospective recruits are being put off by waiting times of up to two years for a test, and the associated price of driver training courses.
Mr Hyland is critical of the efforts of the Road Safety Authority in dealing with a backlog in the test system for rigid and articulated truck drivers.
He is also calling for initiatives to increase the number of female drivers, given the "gross under representation" of women in the industry and he says more needs to be done to make it easier for haulage companies to engage drivers and mechanics from outside Ireland.
Mr Hyland maintains there is a mismatch between the operation of a licence exchange programme, operated by the Department of Transport, and visa requirements demanded by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
In response, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) said an "extraordinary effort" had been made in recent weeks to increase testing capacity for truck drivers.
It cited figures showing that over 1,300 tests in Category C and D (truck and bus) took place during the month of August, compared with 850 in July.
The RSA said it expects to exceed overall testing volumes in higher categories over the course of this year, compared to 2024.
The authority said it was fully committed to delivering timely access to all driving tests.
Today's conference has also heard calls for increased supports for hauliers, as they make the transition to more environmentally friendly fuel sources, such as HVO.
Delegates say they will be closely monitoring next month's budget to see what measures are taken to meet their demands.
