Why Haulage Companies Use Lorries

With the price of petrol being as high as it is and the low mileage of Lorries, one might wonder why haulage companies don’t use small regular vans for at least part of their business. Why do haulage companies go to the expense of buying Lorries for jobs that could be handled by vans?

With the price of petrol being as high as it is and the low mileage of Lorries, one might wonder why haulage companies don’t use small regular vans for at least part of their business. Why do haulage companies go to the expense of buying Lorries for jobs that could be handled by vans?

Basically, there are two answers: expediency and efficiency. In many cases a van could make deliveries but when there are a dozen deliveries due in a short period of time north of a company’s base of operation the logistics can become complicated. If a van has the space for two deliveries then 6 vans must be dispatched or one lorry. Six vans mean six drivers will be required; so in terms of employment costs one lorry is cheaper than six vans. But that doesn’t mean the overall costs would be lower.

Using the above scenario of a dozen deliveries, what if the deliveries are all in the same direction but hundreds of miles apart? Hauling companies try to avoid “deadheading,” a term used to identify returning without a load. The fuel used in hauling a load is figured into the price charged to the customer however the fuel used returning to the base of operations is not. Road haulage on the return trip is necessary to defray costs. But just because the out-going load will fit into a van doesn’t mean available loads for the return trip will fit. Now in addition to extra drivers the road haulage company would have to pay for empty vans returning.

Abnormal loads would always have to be handled by Lorries. Some abnormal loads would be too big to fit in a van, others might be small enough but too heavy for the van’s suspension. Some extra wide loads aren’t hauled inside the lorry’s trailer, but instead are pulled by the cab; vans wouldn’t have the power to pull these sorts of loads. Some loads are so heavy that they can only be hauled at night when traffic is less, because of weight so immense that local authorities will only allow the lorry to cross a bridge that is otherwise devoid of traffic. 

By having vehicles capable of hauling a variety of loads the haulage company is in a better position to keep their drivers busy and the vehicles moving. In the haulage business money is only made when the wheels are turning. Because of insurance and lorry payments, lack of freight to haul doesn’t just prevent a company from making money; it causes companies to lose money. Heavy haulage Lorries is the only way to haul abnormal size loads and extra heavy loads plus they have the load capacity to do the work of many vans.

Source: Free Guest Posting Articles from ArticlesFactory.com