Another internet…
Start-up hero outfit claiming to have the solutions to empty miles. Also getting some free advertising from the commy pinko’s at the Beeb.
bbc.co.uk/news/business-66461766
Bet they can’t factor in the 5 hour wait for 7 pallets at Stobarts/Culina/Sainsbury’s/etc on a bad day. 
yourhavingalarf:
Another internet…Start-up hero outfit claiming to have the solutions to empty miles. Also getting some free advertising from the commy pinko’s at the Beeb.
bbc.co.uk/news/business-66461766
Bet they can’t factor in the 5 hour wait for 7 pallets at Stobarts/Culina/Sainsbury’s/etc on a bad day.
It does mention further down in the article, that a lot of trucks can’t take “backloads” , like fuel or milk tankers. But we know that, because we do it every day.
Just a modern slant on an old idea.
IBack in the 70’s, there was a trucking paper, Headlight. in the ads at the back were companies advertising back loads. 
Can’t see it working kinda sounds bit like back load haulage exchange kinda thing…
But instead random company’s phoning bidding for jobs.they contact customers direct .
Have to laugh half way down it says delivroo knows exactly where it’s pizzas are what time there be delivered.
Yet haluage company’s don’t know where there drivers are or when the stuff will be delivered.
I find that hard to believe. Almost every truck has a tracker fitted and we’re. Watched from an office .
SWEDISH BLUE:
Just a modern slant on an old idea.
IBack in the 70’s, there was a trucking paper, Headlight. in the ads at the back were companies advertising back loads.
Certainly in the 80s…
Backloads were done on an old boy network. To get loads back down to Hampshire, we invariably used General Haulage near Elland Road Leeds (9 times out of 10 it we’d load at Marshalls, Southowram). My gaffer said he used them because he could trust them to pay up.
It always comes down to money.
yourhavingalarf:
Certainly in the 80s…Backloads were done on an old boy network. To get loads back down to Hampshire, we invariably used General Haulage near Elland Road Leeds (9 times out of 10 it we’d load at Marshalls, Southowram). My gaffer said he used them because he could trust them to pay up.
It always comes down to money.
Absolutely. Not just whether they will pay or not, but also how quickly, and how much.
Around 1999 I was working for Meachers at their Derby depot, and part of my job was dealing with backloads. As a general rule, the lower the rate you got for the job, the less hassle you had tipping it. Building materials were the mainstay, as they pretty much are now. If you did happen across a company who would regularly re-load you back south and pay a decent rate, you held on to it and never subbed it out because the sharks like General Haulage and DJD, all middle-men without a single wagon of their own, would be in like a shot for their cut. Just like this bloke is in fact; if the industry wasn’t so reliant on shipping brokers both our bosses and us would probably be considerably better off.
Bob Terris, who was Meachers’ owner in those days, was known to turn up and check the planning sheets (A3 paper all done in pencil, no real-time computers then) and if he found that you’d run a lorry back from the north empty without good reason, you certainly knew about it. All empty mileage had to be accounted for; as he used to say, no money in carrying glider engines.
yourhavingalarf:
SWEDISH BLUE:
Just a modern slant on an old idea.
IBack in the 70’s, there was a trucking paper, Headlight. in the ads at the back were companies advertising back loads.Certainly in the 80s…
Backloads were done on an old boy network. To get loads back down to Hampshire, we invariably used General Haulage near Elland Road Leeds (9 times out of 10 it we’d load at Marshalls, Southowram). My gaffer said he used them because he could trust them to pay up.
It always comes down to money.
Headlight - that took me back. Used to read my dad’s…including the backload smallads. He used to say the backload rates in the 70s & 80s were poor, but were ‘what they were’ so much like other hauliers, he regularly used guys from his ‘black book’ to get something back to Scotland which covered costs. Not much different today, I’d say.
edd1974:
Can’t see it working kinda sounds bit like back load haulage exchange kinda thing…
But instead random company’s phoning bidding for jobs.they contact customers direct .
Have to laugh half way down it says delivroo knows exactly where it’s pizzas are what time there be delivered.
Yet haluage company’s don’t know where there drivers are or when the stuff will be delivered.
I find that hard to believe. Almost every truck has a tracker fitted and we’re. Watched from an office .
Yep, every vehicle is tracked, of course.
The problem these kind of outfits have is they cannot track anyone’s vehicle as they can’t access the tracking system of any of the companies they are dealing with for the specific wagons they may be using. They can’t produce a real time map of all the trucks they have freight on and until some clever programmer can crack that conundrum their tracking/reporting system is no better than the smallads guys could offer in Headlight in 1970 could offer his end customers when they waited for a driver to drop a few 2p pieces in a red public phone box and say ‘I’m tipped’! They only knew when the load was delivered, no information between collection & delivery.
Good to know the problem is getting fixed but don’t hold your breath. LOL
I hated empty running with a vengeance so at Bewick Transport for 25 years we managed as a result of building up a UK wide customer base to run at around 90% laden miles I was at it all the time slotting laden miles into our operation and I can say that we did use the likes of Marshalls and Thermalite often to fill in between our prime traffic delivery/collection places and invariably this “crap rate” traffic worked in really well i.e. quick load and quick tip so the ■■■■ rate worked to our advantage but it was traffic we would never ever consider to run on full time. There is a Quarry near Millom that ships special road surfacing stone throughout the UK I believe and one contractor I see regularly must be clocking up 50% empty running so how that can pay I’ll never understand and Quarry owners have always been the worst as far as paying fair rates go so unless something dramatic has happened in the last few years I don’t think so ! 
Bewick.
As a supermarket driver… What is the issue with running empty? 
I love it.
I did a run from one DC to another yesterday.
I brought over an empty trailer expecting to pick up a trailer full of returns. I got there and they said “Na, mate we got nothing for you”.
Fair enough just came straight back with my empty trailer. 
70’s! I remember reading my dad’s Headlight in the 50’s. He had a little black book too.
adam277:
As a supermarket driver… What is the issue with running empty?
I love it.
Your boss…
Doesn’t. It’s a waste of money, a huge waste of money. Loaded miles is profitable miles, profitable miles makes transport companies better off. Better off transport companies can (but usually don’t) pay their drivers more.
Loaded or empty, we just drive and unless you’re driving an empty curtain-sider in high winds, it’s no biggy.
I expect you back load recycling or cages too.
Can reduced empty miles easy Truck who delivery to RDC can collect load from RDC direct to supermarket,tipped at supermarket and go aheah.Plenty delivery can do to supermarket in pallets instead cages.As well can do some load exchange between companies.But I think for some big companies more profitable do empty miles,simply pump money from customer.
I wonder how many hauliers in total - went ■■■■ up in the end because of all-day waiting times to get tipped?
Own account work is the way to go…lots of empty miles as we shift one thing and one thing only!
yourhavingalarf:
adam277:
As a supermarket driver… What is the issue with running empty?
I love it.Your boss…
Doesn’t. It’s a waste of money, a huge waste of money.
No…it’s more profitable,to get the lorry back,and carry another customer load.
Rather than fork about for another day and a half…for peanuts.
commonrail:
yourhavingalarf:
adam277:
As a supermarket driver… What is the issue with running empty?
I love it.Your boss…
Doesn’t. It’s a waste of money, a huge waste of money.
No…it’s more profitable,to get the lorry back,and carry another customer load.
Rather than fork about for another day and a half…for peanuts.
Yeh and no…
A reliable back-load that covers your fuel home and a bit on top is worth more than running from Yorkshire to Hampshire empty. Running with shorter distance loads it would be worthwhile to run in empty.
I’d argue that your fuel home and a wee drink on top is more than peanuts.
I’ve done 2 gilder fuel back loads from rugby to Southampton this week
I loaded glider engines at that place.
commonrail:
yourhavingalarf:
adam277:
As a supermarket driver… What is the issue with running empty?
I love it.Your boss…
Doesn’t. It’s a waste of money, a huge waste of money.
No…it’s more profitable,to get the lorry back,and carry another customer load.
Rather than fork about for another day and a half…for peanuts.
At our quarry in Derbyshire we had some lovely distance runs to places like Somerset and Kent with limestone, they mostly vanished when artics delivering from the south to the midlands did the runs by cutting almost half the rate as a backload.
Pete.
yourhavingalarf:
I’d argue that your fuel home and a wee drink on top is more than peanuts.
Only if it’s turn and burn…which it never is.
Also,as a day man…I don’t want the extra hours.