As one of the fastest-growing and most profitable industries in present-day Western economy, haulage work has been garnering its fair share of attention from both governments and players from associated fields. The act of driving a truck and delivering loads, once relatively low on the pecking order, is nowadays the focus of an increasing number of technological solutions and systems, which aim to make it run even more efficiently than it already does.

Of these, perhaps the most successful is the freight exchange. Updating a model created in France in the mid-80s, platforms of this type manage to bring lorry drivers, loads, and clients together, in what could almost be considered a ‘dating process’ for haulage work! As a result, many hauliers are able to secure jobs and make extra income off back loads, whilst helping improve productivity rates; conversely, depots and logistics companies are more readily able to advertise their jobs and find a haulier for them through this type of platform. This generates a more even and fair playing field, and in the process, several professional classes linked to the haulage industry end up benefitting – a few examples of which are detailed below.

Self-Employed Hauliers

While it is relatively easy to make the argument that a freight exchange benefits all sorts of people who take on haulage work – that is, after all, its aim – it is also hard to deny that self-employed hauliers and independent contractors are likely to derive particular benefit from this type of system. This is because, unlike their ‘corporate’ brethren, these professionals get paid by job, with no fixed income guaranteed at the end of the month. This, in turn, means they live or die by the number of loads hauled every month, which determines how fat their end-of-the-month paycheque will be.

With this in mind, it is easy to see why this particular professional class could benefit immensely from the use of such a platform: by signing up to a place in which its entire goal is to match jobs and return loads, self-employed hauliers can significantly increase their income.

Logistics Centres

The other big demographic to benefit from freight exchange systems are logistics centres, which are able to place their available haulage work much more swiftly and assuredly. As noted above, most of these platforms allow for companies to place ads, as well as alert drivers in real time about potential loads. This possibility makes the placement a painless process for depots and logistics centres, helping their productivity increase and speeding up functionality.