Any lorry driver worth his or her salt will be quick to tell a layman or woman about the benefits of back loads. After all, what’s not to like about making twice the money in the same amount of time and with the same amount of effort? Return cargo has long been helping line the pockets of haulage professionals, and obtaining this kind of job is a sure-fire way to brighten a driver’s day.

However, the positive aspects of this type of cargo stretch far beyond simply making lorry drivers some extra money. Back loads can also help with the logistical side of things – by reducing the percentage of empty cargo holds across any given fleet – or, in certain cases, even prove ecologically friendly.

Saving The Ozone Layer, One Load At A Time

In fact, while most lorry drivers may not be aware of this fact, return loads can indeed help protect the environment. This is because, by carrying two loads in one trip, drivers are indirectly reducing the volume of gaseous emissions to the atmosphere.

Confused? Think of it this way: when you haul any given cargo you spend a certain amount of fuel, which goes into the atmosphere in the form of gas. Your return trip will waste the same amount again, and so on and so forth for all subsequent journeys. By reducing the number of trips necessary to haul the same amount of cargo, back loads also contribute to reduce the number of carbon emissions released by lorries on the course of their haulage work, which in the long run helps preserve the ozone layer.

Not Just For The Bigger Fish

What’s best, these benefits are not exclusive to large haulage companies – even the smaller man-and-van operator can help protect the ozone layer. In recent years, a number of websites have popped up where individual bidders with small loads can contact man-and-van businesses directly in order to set up haulage opportunities. Shrewd owner-drivers can therefore set up their timetable in such a way that these additional opportunities end up acting as back loads, therefore allowing for a similar sort of situation as the one enjoyed by larger operators.

Drivers are urged to remember, however, that while taking on return cargo can help reduce carbon emissions, they will never be completely eliminated from the haulage process. What this means, in practical terms, is that both owner-drivers and corporate hauliers should be careful to ensure these additional hauls do not cause them to stray too far from what would otherwise have been their route. Setting up a delivery across the country from the depot will only make the return journey (with an empty cargo hold) longer, which will actually prove counter-productive.

If drivers are mindful of these types of details, however, return hauls can be an excellent way to help protect the environment when working in delivery.