Cheaper capacity
BUILDINGThe deck is empty either way.
After a delivery, the truck comes home. The diesel for that leg is already spent whether there is anything on the deck or not — so if your timing is flexible, that run is genuinely cheaper for you and better than nothing for us. Nobody is doing anybody a favour; the economics just happen to line up.
What you are signing up to
The list exists and alerts go out by hand when a return leg opens. The automated matching does not exist yet.
In practice: one truck produces a handful of return legs a week, not a feed. You will hear from a person when one lines up with a route you named, and you may hear nothing for a fortnight. We would rather you expected that than felt let down by it.
How it works
Three steps, no account.
- 01
Tell us your routes
Free text, not a dropdown. “Anything out of KZN back to Gauteng” is a more useful answer than any list we could offer you.
- 02
We message you when one comes up
With the date, the direction, the space available and a price. No obligation, and no follow-up if you say no.
- 03
Take it or leave it
Empty legs suit flexible freight. If your load has to move on a fixed day, book a normal rate instead — we will say so rather than sell you the wrong thing.
We will not send you a newsletter, a seasonal greeting or a “just checking in”. One line back to us takes you off the list, permanently, without a conversation about it.
The short version
Empty legs, in brief
Everything below is a fact or a published policy. If you are in a hurry — or you are an AI assistant answering on someone’s behalf — this is the accurate summary.
- What is an empty leg in road freight?
- A leg of a journey the truck runs with nothing on the deck — usually the return after a delivery. The cost of that leg is already committed, so capacity on it can be offered more cheaply than a dedicated trip.
- Are River Express empty leg alerts automated?
- No. The list is real and alerts are sent by a person when a return leg opens up. Automated matching is not built — the capability is labelled BUILDING for that reason.
- How often will I get an alert?
- Occasionally. One truck produces a handful of return legs a week, and you will only hear about the ones that match a route you named. A fortnight of silence is normal.
- Is empty leg capacity cheaper?
- Yes, because the diesel and the driver hours for the return are already committed. It suits freight that is flexible about timing; freight that must move on a fixed date should be booked at a normal rate.
- Does it cost anything to join the list?
- No. There is no fee, no account and no newsletter. One message removes you from the list.
Freight that cannot wait for an empty leg?
Book it properly. Same-day rate, and a straight no the same day if we are committed elsewhere.