A truck that runs back empty pays for the fuel twice and gets paid once. At R29.11 a litre, loaded fuel costs about R11.64 a kilometre. Run the return leg empty and the fuel cost of every paid kilometre becomes R23.29. Nothing else on your cost sheet moves like that.
The whole argument in one line. Cutting empty kilometres is worth more than any fuel card, any rebate and any negotiation you will have this year — and it is the one lever a small operator can pull without permission from anyone.
What the data shows
These are round trips on lanes we measure on the road network, at 2.5 km per litre and R29.11 a litre.
| Round trip | km run | Round-trip fuel | Fuel per PAID km, loaded both ways | Fuel per PAID km, empty return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johannesburg ↔ Durban | 1 142 | R13 298 | R11.64 | R23.29 |
| Johannesburg ↔ Cape Town | 2 794 | R32 535 | R11.64 | R23.29 |
| Johannesburg ↔ Harare | 2 242 | R26 107 | R11.64 | R23.29 |
The number is the same on every lane, and that is the point. Running back empty doubles your fuel cost per paid kilometre — exactly, on a 571 km lane and on a 1 397 km lane. Distance does not save you. Only a load does.
Why it got worse this year
Diesel rose R9.67 a litre in the year to September 2026 — 49.7%. Loaded, that increase costs you R3.87 a kilometre. Running the return empty, it costs you R7.73 per paid kilometre. the South African diesel price and its 13-month trend has the series.
So a fuel increase does not hit every operator equally. It hits an operator with poor utilisation twice as hard as one with a backhaul — and that gap widens every time diesel goes up. Two operators with identical trucks and identical rates can be on opposite sides of profitable.
The only ratio that matters
Loaded kilometres divided by total kilometres. Most operators do not measure it, and it decides more than their rate does.
| Loaded ratio | Fuel per paid km | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 100% — loaded both ways | R11.64 | the theoretical best; almost nobody achieves it |
| 80% | R14.56 | a strong operation with a working backhaul network |
| 60% | R19.41 | common, and quietly expensive |
| 50% — empty return every time | R23.29 | you are buying diesel for a truck that earns nothing |
Where the environmental case and the business case are the same thing
A truck running back empty burns diesel producing no value and no revenue. Cutting empty kilometres lowers your cost and lowers the fuel burned for the same freight moved. There is no trade-off to argue about and no premium to pay for it.
That is the only environmental claim we will make, because it is arithmetic. We do not publish a tonnes-of-carbon figure, because we have not measured one.
What to do about it
- Measure the ratio for one month. Total kilometres, loaded kilometres. One number per truck.
- Know your lanes before you need them. The return leg is found before you leave, not after you tip.
- Price the round trip, not the leg. A rate that covers cost one way is a loss once the truck comes home.
- Put your truck where the return loads are visible. Matching on Kweli is on vehicle type and lane — the two things that decide whether your truck can actually take the work.
Kweli Load Exchange
Now find a load for your truck — or a truck for your load
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List your truck and its corridors, or post a load. Your corridors decide which loads we show you first — they do not lock you out of the rest. Body, weight, fit, papers: we show them, and you decide.
WhatsApp-integrated · your number is your account. Nothing from an app store — you finish with your trucks and their corridors on the board.
New to Kweli? See what the network does → — load exchange, driver registry and the Pulse community.
Questions people ask
How much does running empty cost a truck?
At R29.11 a litre and 2.5 km per litre, an empty return leg doubles fuel cost per paid kilometre from R11.64 to R23.29. On a Johannesburg–Durban round trip that is R13 298 of diesel against a single paid leg of 571 km.
What is a good loaded kilometre ratio?
Higher is the whole game. At 80% your fuel costs R14.56 per paid kilometre; at 60% it is R19.41; at 50% it is R23.29. Measure it before you try to improve it.
Is a backhaul worth taking at a lower rate?
Usually yes, and the test is simple: does the backhaul rate beat the fuel and running cost of the return leg you are going to drive anyway? An empty return earns nothing and still burns R11.64 a kilometre.
How do I find a backhaul load?
Post your truck with its vehicle type and the lanes it runs, so return loads on that lane find you rather than you hunting them. The practical methods are here.
How we measured it
Distances are ours, measured against the road network for 225 of our 269 active corridors — not straight-line, and not a desk estimate. The diesel price is the DMPR wholesale list price for 0.05% sulphur diesel, inland, effective 2 September 2026. Consumption at 2.5 km per litre is illustrative and stated as such; the ratio table lets you read off your own.
Related: how to find backhaul loads · the South African diesel price and its 13-month trend · what a good CPK looks like · all fuel and freight cost coverage
