Start with your planned route
Record where the vehicle will finish, where it needs to go next and the time already required for that movement. Then compare the proposed collection and delivery with that baseline.
Check the collection window, delivery window, vehicle and trailer requirements, loading arrangements and next commitment. Availability alone is not a reason to accept a load.
Compare the additional costs
Compare the additional load revenue with the costs created by accepting it: detour mileage, fuel, operating time, waiting, road charges and any other extra expense. Include any loaded-fuel difference on the original route.
Use your own figures on one consistent VAT basis. Do not count a cost twice: if a mileage rate already includes driver time, do not add that same time cost again. This measures extra contribution, not the full profit of the vehicle’s day.
A backload: the numbers
150 miles already planned → 190 miles with the backload. Extra distance: 40 miles; extra time: 2 hours. These are example inputs, not Houlvek rates.
£250 − £118 = £132 extra contribution, not total trip profit. Original journey and fixed costs remain. The mileage input excludes the separately counted time; avoid double counting. Include any loaded-fuel difference and work lost. Two more hours at £25 reduce the contribution to £82. Use one consistent VAT basis.
Extra distance: 40 miles
- Additional revenue
- £250
- 40 extra miles × £1.20
- £48
- 2 extra hours × £25
- £50
- Other additional costs
- £20
- Total additional cost
- £118
- Extra contribution
- £132
Your backload decision checklist
- Route and timing — next planned point, collection window and delivery window.
- Additional movement — extra miles and time, including waiting.
- Revenue and costs — extra revenue, incremental costs and the difference.
- Operating fit — vehicle, equipment, next commitment and missing details.
- Decision — proceed, decline or clarify first, with a reason.
Keep assumptions with the record so you can compare the estimate with what happened afterwards.
Check the whole operating plan
A route match must also fit the applicable drivers’ hours, working time, rest and load-security requirements. Include loading, unloading and waiting in the plan. Use the linked official guidance for the rules relevant to your operation.
Keep agreed terms, messages, job progress and proof of delivery together. A useful additional load should not create avoidable confusion about the movement.
Empty HGV mileage in context
DfT reports 5,897 million empty kilometres by GB-registered HGVs within the UK in 2025 — 31% of their total vehicle kilometres. This is a domestic road-freight statistic, not a saving achievable through Houlvek.
For your business, compare actual journeys and costs over time. Suitable return loads depend on active freight, location, timing and equipment; there is no guaranteed load for each return.