2 new articles about my agency were published today at Trans Info EMagazine
Thousands of Brazilian truck drivers want to work in Europe.
Recruiter signs deals with multiple hauliers
Brazil is emerging as a significant new source of truck drivers for European hauliers, with one recruitment agency alone expecting to place more than 2,000 this year.
European haulage firms could recruit more than 2,000 Brazilian truck drivers in 2026, according to international recruitment agency
M/Brazil, as operators widen their search for labour beyond traditional overseas hiring markets. The trend also raises questions about a recruitment model that has already drawn scrutiny over working conditions, pay disputes and enforcement gaps.
Marcelo Toledo, owner of M/Brazil, says the agency has signed agreements with 17 European transport companies that together plan to hire over 2,000 Brazilian drivers this year. Demand is coming from Spain, Germany, Austria, Poland and Lithuania. The figure is an agency forecast rather than a verified market total, but it reflects Brazil’s growing role in European driver recruitment.
Brazilian drivers appeal to European employers for several reasons: many have long-haul experience, are accustomed to demanding road conditions, and are drawn by the prospect of significantly higher wages. Toledo adds that around 5% of the Brazilian drivers engaging with his agency already hold European passports, easing parts of the recruitment process. The agency says it receives around 10,000 CVs a month from drivers seeking overseas work.
The backdrop is Europe’s well-documented driver shortage. In February, the European Commission published an IRU-led study on the recruitment and integration of bus and truck drivers from third countries. The study found the EU road transport sector is short of around 500,000 professional drivers. It concluded that third-country recruitment can help address the gap, but only if built on clear legal pathways, fair conditions and common EU standards — and that it is not a substitute for structural reform within the sector.
Brazil is emerging as part of a broader diversification of recruitment markets rather than an isolated experiment. As some established hiring routes become more complex, transport firms are increasingly looking at labour pools that can deliver experienced drivers with fewer procedural bottlenecks.
Trans.INFO has already reported on one such example. Earlier this month, Lithuanian haulier Gretvėja interviewed candidates in São Paulo with the aim of hiring 200 Brazilian truck drivers. That recruitment drive ran concurrently with a wage dispute in Rotterdam involving one of the company’s drivers, who alleged months of underpayment. Gretvėja disputed the allegations. The overlap illustrated the reputational risks that can arise when international recruitment scales quickly and labour standards or enforcement come into question.
Another haulier to recruit hundreds of drivers from South America
One of Lithuania’s largest transport and logistics companies,
Vlantana, is taking an unconventional step: in cooperation with M/BRAZIL Agency, it plans to hire as many as 200 HGV drivers from South America.
This move reflects a broader trend across Europe: carriers are increasingly looking for workforce outside the EU to address the worsening driver shortage. Europe’s logistics sector has been facing a lack of qualified drivers for several years now. The main reasons are an ageing workforce and declining interest in the profession among young drivers.
In this situation, companies are forced to look for alternatives, and South America is becoming an increasingly attractive region.
Transport companies point to several key arguments. South American drivers, especially from Brazil, stand out for their extensive experience working in challenging conditions. They are valued for their flexibility and ability to adapt, and their motivation to work in the international market is extremely high.
Vlantana’s strategic move
Based in the Klaipėda region, Vlantana Logistics is hiring 200 HGV drivers from Brazil. For selected candidates, the company offers help with accommodation, travel arrangements, and “long-term career opportunities in Europe”.
The entire recruitment process will be fully coordinated by M/BRAZIL Agency, which specialises in international recruitment in the logistics sector.
Vlantana’s decision is not an isolated case. More and more European carriers are turning to third countries—from Asia to Latin America. Recently, we wrote that Gretvėja held a candidate selection in São Paulo in order to hire around 200 Brazilian truck drivers.
According to M/BRAZIL Agency, European carriers could hire more than
2,000 drivers from Brazil this year alone. Companies in Lithuania and Poland are the most eager to recruit drivers from this region, as well as firms in Germany and Spain.
Just a temporary fix?
Experts note that this may become a long-term structural direction rather than a temporary solution, although in a broader context it raises more questions. It is estimated that Europe’s road transport sector is currently short of around 500 thousand drivers, so companies are increasingly expanding their search beyond the European Union— Brazil is now one of the new recruitment markets.
However, according to trade unions, this addresses not the causes but the consequences. In recent years, Lithuania has already tightened the hiring of workers from third countries —quotas have been introduced, oversight is being strengthened, and more attention is being paid to pay levels and working conditions.
Critics stress that the shortage of local workers is driven not only by demographics, but also by the nature of the job: long periods away, a complex pay system, and disputes over working conditions reduce the profession’s appeal. As a result, importing labour may be only a temporary fix—over time it raises questions about social dumping and the sector’s competitiveness if the underlying problems in the market itself are not addressed.
