Return Loads - Economic and Environmental Benefits

Many words have been wasted on the topic of ensuring that delivery trucks are filled with return loads as much as possible. So how important, really, is utilising a delivery truck’s cargo space upon the return trip? As it turns out, extremely important: the homeward trips cost as much in terms of driver time and fuel consumption, and neglecting this aspect of your haulage company’s operation can sink it in a matter of months. But just in case there’s anything remotely vague about the subject, we have outlined the benefits for you.

Economic Advantage

It goes without saying that a fleet of delivery trucks returning from their destinations without return loads results in the exact opposite of profit. Obviously, a company that does not earn from the reverse trip will quickly succumb to failure. This is so because it takes as much amount of fuel and man-hours to drive the trucks back to the depot, and if the operation of these trucks is not being supplemented by cargo, that makes the primary trip a losing business proposition. To illustrate, if you earn a two hundred pounds from delivering a load to its destination and you spend a hundred pounds in accomplishing the job, then you earn a hundred. But then again the truck has to return, and if that trip costs also a hundred pounds, then you’re back to zero earnings. Worse, your truck requires maintenance costs—each time it goes out on the road, it suffers ever from wear and tear.

Environmental Advantage

There’s also the matter of the carbon footprint: delivery trucks use up enormous amounts of fuel and, most likely, they churn out carbon dioxide and other pollutants that could easily add up to thousands of kilos every year. While such pollutant output does not necessarily get reduced when your trucks are filled with return loads, at least the fuel used is not to waste. What’s more, with healthy earnings from such cargo, the haulage company can invest further in ensuring that their operation stays as green as possible—and that includes proper truck maintenance and installation of filters to reduce emissions.

Enhanced Operational Efficiency

The bottom line of all the benefits of getting as many return loads as possible is simple: you reduce wastage (time, effort, money) to zero. This efficiency has a direct impact on your profits: with every return trip profitable, it goes without saying that your company stays efficient. Moreover, constantly ensuring your company’s operational efficiency can also have other indirect benefits. For instance, you can use the data as a selling point when you publish your annual report or when you do decide to take on investors. It will make your company look good and ‘in the know’, and nothing inspires customers’ and investors’ trust and confidence more than seeing a company’s commitment to efficiency.

Norman Dulwich is a correspondent for Haulage Exchange, the world's largest neutral trading hub for same day haulage jobs and return loads in the express freight exchange industry. Over 2,500 transport exchange businesses are networked together through their website, trading jobs and capacity in a safe 'wholesale' environment.

Writer and Online Marketing Manager in London.