Getting a haulage quote in Leeds and Yorkshire

What a haulier needs before they can price your job

Give them this lot and you'll get a real price, not a guess:

• Collection and delivery postcodes. Full postcodes, not just "Leeds". LS10 and LS29 are both Leeds, but they're very different runs.
• What it is. Pallets of boxed goods, loose grain, bales, a digger, steel, a shipping container. It decides which trailer turns up.
• How much of it, and how heavy. Number of pallets or bales, rough weight in tonnes, and the size if it's anything odd. "About 20 pallets, 12 tonne" is fine.
• Full load or part load. Will it fill a trailer, or are you only using some of the space? More on part loads below.
• Loading and unloading. Forklift on site? Loading bay? Do they need a tail lift, a Moffett, or a crane? Is it a farm yard, a building site, or a city-centre street with no room to turn round?
• Dates and times. When can it go, when must it arrive, and are there booking-in slots at the other end? If the dates are flexible, say so. Flexible dates often mean a cheaper price.
• Anything awkward. Narrow lanes, weight limits on the road in, low bridges, height barriers, or a site that only opens 8 till 4.
• Photos. A couple of photos of the load and the yard save a lot of back and forth.

What makes a haulage quote go up or down

There's no fixed price list in haulage, and anyone who gives you one off the cuff without asking questions is guessing. These are the things that actually move the number:

Distance, and where the lorry ends up. A haulier isn't just pricing your miles. They're pricing getting back. A run from Leeds to somewhere they've got regular work near can be cheaper than a shorter run to somewhere they'll come back empty from. Drivers looking for that reload can read how to find return loads and stop running empty.

The trailer it needs. A curtainsider for pallets, a tipper or bulker for grain and aggregates, a flatbed for steel, a low loader for plant, a walking floor for woodchip. The more specialist the trailer, the fewer firms run one and the more it costs.

Weight and space. A standard six-axle artic in Great Britain can run up to 44 tonnes gross, if it meets the conditions in the regulations ( GOV.UK, HGV maximum weights). That gross weight includes the lorry and trailer, so the actual payload is a lot less. Heavy, dense loads hit the weight limit before the trailer's full. Light, bulky loads fill the trailer before they get anywhere near it. Either way, the haulier prices what you're stopping them carrying for anyone else.

Waiting time. If the driver's sat for two hours waiting to be tipped, that's two hours of a lorry and a driver doing nothing. Some hauliers build waiting into the price, some charge it after. Ask.

Access. Farm tracks, tight industrial estates and town-centre drops take longer and sometimes need a smaller vehicle.

Clean Air Zones. Bradford and Sheffield both run Class C Clean Air Zones that charge HGVs that don't meet Euro VI, at £50 a day ( Bradford Council, Sheffield City Council). Most hauliers running into those cities will already have compliant motors, but if you're getting a cheap price off someone with an older wagon, it's worth checking. Leeds isn't on the government's list of charging Clean Air Zones ( GOV.UK, Clean Air Zones).

Timing. Harvest, the run-up to Christmas, and anything needed tomorrow will cost more than something that can go any day next week.

Part loads: don't pay for a whole trailer if you don't need it

If you've only got a few pallets or a few tonnes, you don't always need a lorry to yourself. A part load means your goods share the trailer with someone else's, or ride along on a run a haulier's already doing. It's usually cheaper than a dedicated full load, but you need to be a bit flexible on dates, because the haulier's fitting you in around other work.

When you ask for a part load price, say how many pallet spaces or how many metres of trailer you'll take up, and whether it can be stacked. That's what they're really selling you.

Checking the haulier before you book

You're handing your goods to someone, so do a few quick checks:

• Operator's licence. Anyone carrying other people's goods for hire or reward in a vehicle over 3.5 tonnes needs a goods vehicle operator's licence ( GOV.UK, Being a goods vehicle operator). You can look an operator up by name, address or licence number on the government's Find lorry or bus operators service.
• Goods in transit insurance. Ask what they're covered for and up to what value. If your load's worth more than their cover, sort that before it goes.
• Reviews and history. How long have they been going, and what do other customers say about them?
• Get it in writing. Price, dates, what's included, and what happens if there's waiting time or a delay.

Getting quotes through HaulNet

HaulNet is a UK haulage load board. Instead of ringing round, you post the job once and hauliers who want the work send you a price.

• Posting a job is free. No card needed to post. Customers can post jobs now, and hauliers on the board can quote straight away.
• Quoting is free for hauliers. No subscription, no fee to send a price.
• You compare the quotes. You can see each haulier's price, profile and feedback, and whether they've had their O-licence and insurance documents checked for a Verified badge. Uploads are optional, and a badge is not a guarantee of the job.
• No fee on any job until 1 January 2027. After that there's a small, capped introduction fee, and you only pay it when you accept a quote: £5 the first time, then 3% of the quote you accept, never more than £30. If nobody quotes, or you don't accept, you pay nothing.
• You pay the haulier direct for the haulage. We don't hold your transport money. Once you've accepted and paid the fee, you both get each other's contact details and sort the job out between you.

No fee on any job until 1 January 2027. After that, on a £250 job the fee would be £7.50. On a £600 job it's £18. On anything over £1,000 it's £30, and that's the most it'll ever be. Your first one is just £5 whatever the job.

If something goes wrong and the haulier doesn't do the job, report it on the job before the deadline shown, which for new bookings is three full days after the agreed delivery date. We'll look into it and, if you paid an introduction fee, refund it where it applies. That covers our fee, not the money you paid the haulier, and your statutory rights aren't affected.

A quick checklist before you post

1. Full collection and delivery postcodes
2. What it is, how many, how heavy
3. Full load or part load
4. Loading and unloading at both ends
5. Dates, and how flexible you can be
6. Anything awkward about access
7. A couple of photos

Get those right and you'll get proper prices back, quicker, from people who actually want the job. Post a haulage job on HaulNet.