7 September 2026 · 4 min read

What is a backload in haulage — and why is it cheaper?

A backload (sometimes called a return load) is cargo carried on a journey a lorry was making anyway — classically the empty return leg after a delivery. The haulier turns dead mileage into paid work, and the customer gets transport at well below dedicated-hire prices. It's the closest thing haulage has to a win-win.

Why lorries run empty in the first place

Freight doesn't flow evenly. A low loader delivers an excavator to a site and there's rarely another machine waiting at that exact postcode to come back. Official freight statistics have long shown around 30% of HGV miles in Great Britain are run empty. Every one of those miles still costs the operator diesel, driver hours and tacho time — which is why an empty lorry is an expensive lorry.

The economics, in one paragraph

A haulier quoting a dedicated job has to price in the whole round trip. A haulier filling an empty leg has already covered their costs on the outbound work — so any sensible rate on the return is profit, and they can charge you a fraction of a dedicated price while still coming out ahead. You're not getting a worse service; you're getting the same lorry, driver and insurance, minus the empty miles you'd otherwise be subsidising.

What travels well as a backload

• Plant and machinery — diggers, dumpers, rollers, telehandlers.
• Vehicles — cars, vans, agricultural machines.
• Palletised and general freight with flexible timing.
• Anything where a day or two of date flexibility is acceptable in exchange for a serious saving.

The catch (and how a marketplace fixes it)

The traditional problem with backloads is finding one: the lorry that's perfect for your job is empty for four hours on one specific Tuesday, and you have no way of knowing it exists. Ringing around transport firms, or posting on general classifieds, is slow and hit-and-miss.

That matching problem is what Hitched Up solves. Hauliers publish the journeys they're already making, with their real spare capacity — deck space, payload, ramps, winch. Your job is matched against every published journey passing within the haulier's chosen corridor of your route, with the physical fit checked automatically. Requesting is free; you pay only once a haulier accepts, and the payment is held until your delivery is confirmed.

Cheaper, and cleaner too

A filled backload isn't just a cheaper move — it's a journey that didn't need a second lorry. Same goods delivered, meaningfully less diesel burned and fewer miles on the road. As more of the UK's spare deck space gets matched with the loads that need it, everyone's transport bill — and the industry's fuel bill — comes down together.