Empty truck and backhaul: how to find a return load faster
Every empty kilometre costs money. How carriers find return loads faster and why shippers look at free trucks first.
A truck unloads in Vienna on Tuesday afternoon. Sarajevo is more than 700 kilometres away. If it drives back empty, the carrier pays for fuel, tolls and the driver and earns nothing. That is why, for many companies, a return load is the difference between a good month and a bad one.
What an empty truck actually is
An empty or free truck is a vehicle that has unloaded and is looking for its next load. Usually it wants cargo heading home, but something along the way can work too. These trucks often come at a better price, because for the carrier it is better to drive for less than to drive empty.
Why shippers look at free trucks
If your cargo matches someone's way home, you get a faster confirmation and often a better rate. That is why experienced forwarders do not wait for calls. They look for themselves at who is free and where.
How to find a return load faster
- Post the truck before you unload, not after. The earlier you know where you will be free, the more time there is to find cargo.
- Say where you are and where you can go. Loading near Vienna, heading back towards Bosnia or Serbia, and whether a detour works for you.
- Be precise about the vehicle. Tarp, reefer, mega, length and payload. A shipper does not want to call just to learn the basics.
- Follow the routes you drive often. Save a search for your radius and you will get a notification as soon as a load appears nearby.
Where chat groups fall short
Groups are fast, but messages disappear within an hour. You do not know who is behind the number and there is no record of the deal. When you post a truck on an exchange, the offer stays visible, it is tied to your company and its registry profile, and the conversation and documents stay in one place.
In short
A return load rarely finds itself. Post your free truck early, be clear about the vehicle and the route, and let the load find you. On CargoTrust you can do it with a single message, and smart suggestions show loads that fit your location and direction.
