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The UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change projects that the price of fuel will increase in the coming decade, making the the cost of transporting goods set to increase as well. However, there are many ways you can increase the chances of a good return. Loads can be grouped, trips can be carefully routed to ensure minimum distance travelled, and working to bring in return loads can double the contracted goods over nearly the same distance travelled. With a little foresight and organisation, you can make the most of all your transport contracts and ensure that the maximum goods are transported over the minimum distance travelled and time spent. Groupage Groupage is when you combine several smaller jobs from various different contracts into a single transport trip. If you have extra space in your transportation vehicle for more cargo, chances are that you will find someone who has the need for that space in order to get their goods to a destination close in proximity to your own end point. This way you can make one long trip, and maybe have several drop offs in the same city, or drop off goods along the way as you travel. How this can benefit your company should be obvious: you can increase revenue on an individual trip and complete more contracts – delivering more goods – in nearly the same amount of time. Of course, making several smaller journeys on your way to your final destination will take a little longer, and take a little more fuel. Hopefully, however, the new contracts should than make up for it and will really help you maximise your time and fuel. Return Loads The concept of return loads is similar to that of goods groupage. You're making the most of your time, fuel, and vehicle's space. However, in this case, you're completing a contract on your return journey, picking up goods at your first destination, and then returning them to your point of origin. Also, the more contracts you complete, the more business connections you begin to make. With good organisation, you can become familiar with not only goods transported from your original location, but also return loads for your homeward trip. Plan your journeys This is one of the most important things you can do working in the haulage and transport industry. Making unnecessary detours and stops uses up not only precious fuel, but also time. Delivering goods after the scheduled time makes a company less likely to come back to you for a transport contract. So double-check your route to make sure that all the roads are operational and suitable for a large vehicle. Road closures can really throw off the delivery schedule, especially in rural areas. Also, and this is especially true when working with groupage, be sure to work out the most efficient route. This can be tricky when trying to organise several different deliveries (both your end and theirs), but as much as possible, try not to cross back over yourself, or retrace your route as this only wastes time and fuel. Norman Dulwich is a correspondent for Haulage Exchange, the world's largest neutral trading hub for same day haulage jobs and return loads in the express freight exchange industry. Over 2,500 transport exchange businesses are networked together through their website, trading jobs and capacity in a safe 'wholesale' environment.
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