Every load we deliver ends with a lorry somewhere it does not live. It has to come back to Miles Platting whether it is carrying anything or not, and an empty lorry earns nothing for anybody. A backload is the space on that return leg.

Why it is cheaper

Because the journey is already happening and already paid for. A dedicated load is priced on the whole movement: out, load, back. A backload is priced on the difference between running empty and running loaded, which is a much smaller number.

What you give up

Certainty of date. That is the entire trade. A dedicated lorry goes when you say. A backload goes when one of ours is finishing a job near you and heading in the right direction. That might be Tuesday. It might be the Tuesday after.

So a backload suits a load that has to move but does not have to move by Friday. It does not suit a site that is waiting for it.

What travels well as a backload

Containers, cabins, plant, packaged goods, steelwork, anything that will sit on a flat and does not mind waiting. Our vehicles carry their own crane, so a backload does not need you to have a forklift at either end, which is usually what kills the idea on a general haulage lorry.

How to get on the list

Tell us what it is, where it is, where it is going and how flexible the date is. If something is passing, we will offer it. If nothing is, we will say so rather than let you wait.

We have been publishing the loads we have carried this way since 2015, year by year, which is a longer record than most hauliers keep in public.

The backloads archive · Where our lorries actually go · Regular and contract work