Hauliers find backloads in five main ways: orders already in their own system, partner hauliers and regular contacts, load boards and freight exchanges, freight forwarders and brokers, and load matching software that checks live orders against routes already planned. Most fleets lean on the first four. The trouble is that all of them depend on someone spotting the match in time, which is why UK HGV empty running still sits at around 28 to 30% of vehicle mileage (Department for Transport, 2026).
Here's how each source works, where it fits, and how to tell whether a backload is actually worth taking. If you're new to the term, start with what backloading means.
1. Your Own Orders
The most overlooked source of backloads is the work you already have. A collection booked for Thursday might fit a truck coming back from a Wednesday delivery nearby; a customer's next order might sit right on a return leg. These matches are often the most profitable because there's no middleman taking a cut, but they only get found if someone compares every open order against every vehicle's route.
2. Partner Hauliers and Regular Contacts
Many hauliers trade work with a few trusted operators who run complementary lanes, passing on loads they can't cover and taking return loads in exchange. It's reliable and built on relationships, but it covers a small number of familiar lanes and depends on a phone call landing at the right moment.
3. Load Boards and Freight Exchanges
Load boards and freight exchanges are subscription marketplaces where shippers, forwarders and hauliers post loads that need moving and vehicles with spare capacity. They offer the widest pool of return loads, and for many small fleets they're the main way of filling empty legs.
The trade-offs are time and margin. Someone still has to search, filter and phone around, the best loads go quickly, and rates on open marketplaces tend to be competitive because many carriers can see the same job.
4. Freight Forwarders and Brokers
Forwarders and brokers who know your lanes can feed you return loads regularly. It saves searching, and a good broker relationship can be steady work, but the broker takes a margin and you see only the loads they choose to pass on.
5. Load Matching Software
Load matching software automates the search. Instead of a person scanning a list of loads, it continuously compares live orders, whether your own or from partners you choose to work with, against each vehicle's planned route. For each candidate it calculates the extra distance and time the detour would add, checks remaining capacity and delivery windows, and only flags the matches that are worth more than the empty miles they replace.
Its strength is coverage: it checks every order against every route as both change through the day, so it catches the odd-shaped gaps and short detours a busy dispatcher never has time to look for.
Comparing the Options
| Source | Best for | Main downside |
|---|---|---|
| Your own orders | Highest-margin matches with no middleman | Only found if someone checks every order against every route |
| Partner hauliers | Reliable, trusted work on familiar lanes | Limited lanes; depends on a call at the right time |
| Load boards and freight exchanges | The widest pool of available loads | Manual searching, competitive rates, good loads go fast |
| Forwarders and brokers | Steady work without searching | Broker margin; you see only what they pass on |
| Load matching software | Checking every order against every route continuously | Needs your route and order data to set up |
These aren't either-or. Load matching software works on top of whatever order sources you already have, including partner and exchange loads, and simply makes sure the good matches among them get spotted.
Is This Backload Worth Taking?
A return load isn't automatically a good one. Before accepting, check:
- Detour versus empty miles: the extra distance to collect and deliver should be small compared with the empty miles it replaces.
- Driver hours: the extra time has to fit within drivers' hours limits and still get the driver home or to the next job on time.
- Vehicle and capacity: the load has to suit the trailer type and the space and weight still available.
- Timing: collection and delivery windows have to line up with where the truck will actually be.
- Rate versus marginal cost: the rate should comfortably cover the extra fuel, time and wear of the detour itself.
Running those five checks across hundreds of vehicles and a constantly changing pool of orders is exactly the part that doesn't scale by hand, and the reason the UK's empty running rate has barely moved in years.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a return load?
A return load is another name for a backload: a paid load a truck carries on its way back after a delivery, so it doesn't run empty. Hauliers use the two terms interchangeably.
Where can hauliers find backloads in the UK?
From five main sources: orders already in their own system, partner hauliers and regular contacts, load boards and freight exchanges, freight forwarders and brokers, and load matching software that checks live orders against routes already planned.
Is a load board the same as load matching software?
No. A load board is a marketplace where loads and spare vehicles are posted and someone searches for a fit. Load matching software does the search for you, checking orders against each vehicle's planned route, capacity and timing and calculating whether the detour is worth it.
How should a backload be priced?
Start from the marginal cost of taking it: the extra miles and driver time of the detour, not the full cost of the journey, since the truck is making the trip anyway. Anything above that marginal cost improves on running empty, but pricing too close to it can undercut your own outbound rates.
Find More Backloads Automatically
Anteam Reload™ matches live orders, from your own fleet or from other suppliers you choose to work with, against your planned routes, and shows the detour, CO2 and revenue for each match so dispatchers see the trade-off, not just a suggestion. Anteam sets it up on your data free of charge for a 1-month, no-obligation trial. Book a demo to see it against your own routes.
Related reading: what backloading means and how it differs from backhaul, and backloading for hauliers for a use-case walkthrough.