A lorry travelling along a motorway may look like a normal part of the UK freight network. What is less obvious is whether it is carrying goods at all.
Empty miles occur when a vehicle completes part of its journey without a load. This often happens after a delivery, when a driver returns to a depot or travels to another collection point without suitable cargo for the journey.
Some empty running is unavoidable, but too much of it creates a hidden logistics problem. It wastes fuel, reduces vehicle productivity, increases emissions, and places unnecessary pressure on transport costs.
For businesses relying on road freight, understanding empty miles can lead to better planning and more efficient distribution.
How significant are empty miles in the UK?
Empty running is not a small or unusual part of road freight. According to the Department for Transport’s 2025 domestic road freight statistics, GB-registered HGVs travelled approximately 5.9 billion kilometres empty during the year. That represented 31% of their total vehicle kilometres.
In simple terms, almost one kilometre in every three was completed without freight on board.
That does not mean every empty journey reflects poor planning. Specialist vehicles may not be suitable for an available return load, delivery times may not align, or the vehicle may need to reposition for its next booking. However, the scale of empty running shows why improving vehicle utilisation remains an important challenge.
Why do HGVs travel without a load?
Road freight rarely follows a perfectly balanced pattern. A business may need goods delivered to a location where there is no suitable cargo waiting to travel back.
Timing also matters. A potential return load may not be ready until several hours later, making it impractical for the vehicle to wait. Vehicle type can create another limitation: a refrigerated trailer, container vehicle, or specialist side loader cannot necessarily accept the next available consignment.
Demand is rarely equal in both directions either. Some areas receive far more freight than they send, which makes balanced journeys difficult to organise.
These realities mean empty miles cannot be eliminated entirely. The goal is to identify where better coordination could reduce them.
The true cost is more than fuel
Fuel is the most visible cost of an empty journey, but it is not the only one. The vehicle still requires a driver, maintenance, insurance, and operating time. Tyres and mechanical components continue to wear, while the lorry occupies road space without carrying revenue-generating cargo.
Empty mileage can also influence the prices businesses pay for transport. Hauliers need to account for the whole movement, including the likelihood that a vehicle may return without a load.
Reducing avoidable empty running can therefore improve efficiency across the supply chain rather than only benefiting the transport provider.
It also supports environmental goals. Fewer unnecessary journeys mean lower fuel use and fewer transport emissions. This complements the wider changes explored in Oceanside Logistics’ Sustainable Fleet Rollouts: How Electric HGVs Are Changing UK Road Freight
Backloading can make journeys more productive
One way to reduce empty miles is through backloading. This involves finding a suitable consignment for the return leg of a vehicle’s journey.
It sounds straightforward, but successful backloading depends on several details aligning. The goods must be ready at the right time, the collection and destination need to fit the route, and the vehicle must be suitable for the cargo.
When those conditions are met, backloading can improve capacity use and make the overall journey more economical. It can also help businesses access transport that is already travelling in the required direction.
Digital freight platforms are making this matching process easier. The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport has highlighted how technology can connect available loads with historically empty routes, helping operators reduce wasted mileage and fuel consumption.
Warehousing affects vehicle efficiency too
Empty running is not purely a road planning problem. Warehouse timing plays an important role.
A vehicle may arrive for a collection only to discover that the goods are not ready. If waiting would disrupt the remainder of the schedule, it may need to leave without the planned load. Poor booking information, changes in stock availability, or slow loading processes can all contribute.
Efficient warehousing and distribution supports better vehicle utilisation by ensuring that collections are prepared and loading slots are realistic. Clear communication between transport teams, warehouses, and customers makes it easier to plan connected movements.
This relationship between transport and scheduling is explored further in How Smarter Route Planning Helps Reduce Delivery Delays
Better data supports better decisions
Reducing empty miles depends on visibility. Logistics teams need to know where vehicles are, when they will become available, what capacity they have, and which loads need to move.
When this information is fragmented, opportunities for efficient return journeys are easily missed. When it is shared accurately, planners can make stronger decisions about vehicle allocation, collection times, and route combinations.
Reliable demand forecasts can help too. Businesses with predictable order patterns are easier to plan for than those making repeated last-minute bookings.
This is especially relevant where e-commerce fulfilment creates frequent movements between warehouses, distribution hubs, and customers.
Not every empty journey is avoidable
It is important to keep the issue in perspective. A completely full vehicle network is not realistic.
Safety requirements, driver hours, vehicle compatibility, cleaning needs, route restrictions, and customer deadlines can all make an empty journey necessary. Forcing an unsuitable backload into the schedule may create more cost or disruption than it saves.
The aim should be smarter utilisation rather than filling every vehicle at any price. Effective planning looks for practical opportunities while protecting reliability and cargo suitability.
Conclusion
Empty miles are one of the less visible inefficiencies within UK road freight. They increase operating costs, consume capacity, and contribute to emissions without moving goods.
Although some empty running will always be necessary, better route planning, backloading, warehouse coordination, and data visibility can reduce avoidable journeys. For businesses, this can support more efficient freight decisions and a better understanding of the true cost of road transport.
At Oceanside Logistics, we support businesses with UK customs clearance, ocean freight, air freight, road freight, warehouse and distribution, and e-commerce fulfilment services. To find out more, contact us or request a quote through our website.
