"Haulage" makes most people think of articulated lorries. A large share of goods moved around the UK never goes near one. Light haulage is the work done by vans, typically Luton and long-wheelbase vans, carrying pallets, machinery parts, stock, furniture and trade materials that are too big for a courier parcel network and too small to justify a lorry.
LMD Logistics is based in Birtley, in the North East, and runs haulage across the whole of the UK, from a single pallet to a full load. This guide explains how to tell whether your job is light haulage, what information a haulier needs, and how to avoid paying for more truck than you need.
What counts as light haulage
- Single pallets or a handful of pallets going to one or two drops.
- Part loads: a van's worth of goods sharing the journey with nothing else, or combined with a run already going that way.
- Stock moves between a shop, a unit and a warehouse.
- Machinery parts, fixtures and fittings, exhibition kit.
- Bulky furniture and retail goods going business to business.
Why a van beats a lorry for many jobs
A van can reach places a lorry cannot: town centre shopfronts, industrial estates with tight turning, rear yards, residential streets. It is also quicker to load and unload for smaller consignments, and a dedicated van goes direct rather than through a hub, so the goods are handled fewer times.
Our Luton vans have tail lifts, which make palletised and heavy items much easier to load without a forklift at either end.
Light haulage versus a courier
Parcel couriers are built around boxes that one person can lift and that travel through sorting depots. The moment an item is heavy, fragile, awkwardly shaped or palletised, it becomes a haulage job. We have a separate guide on courier versus haulage for bulky items that compares the two in more detail.
What to tell a haulier
The more of this you can give at the start, the more accurate the quote, and the less chance of the wrong vehicle turning up.
- Collection and delivery addresses, including postcodes.
- What the goods are, how many items or pallets, and rough dimensions and weights.
- Whether there is a forklift or loading bay at each end, or whether it is a tail lift job.
- Any time windows: goods-in slots, opening hours, site access rules.
- Whether it is a one-off or a regular run.
One-off jobs and regular runs
Plenty of our haulage is ad hoc: a single machine collected from one unit and delivered to another, or a pallet that needs to be somewhere tomorrow. For businesses with regular movements, we also work on a contract basis with furniture shops, bed retailers, auction houses, sofa companies, wholesalers, engineering firms and manufacturers who need consistent collection and delivery.
If you find yourself booking the same run every week, it is worth asking about a contract arrangement.
Coverage from the North East
Birtley sits right beside the A1(M), which gives quick access north to Newcastle and Scotland, south to Durham, Darlington and Teesside, and on to the rest of the country. Our haulage covers the whole of mainland Britain, and our experienced drivers are the same people who handle our removals work.
All haulage runs under goods in transit insurance, and we quote each job on its own details at competitive rates.
Common questions
Related services
- Haulage in Darlington — Local & UK-wide haulage with a robust fleet and experienced drivers.
- Contract in Darlington — Long-term partnerships with local businesses for regular pickup and delivery.
- Collection / Delivery in Darlington — Bulky items collected and delivered anywhere in the UK.
Areas this applies to
- Darlington — DL1 / DL2 / DL3
- Sunderland — SR1 / SR2 / SR3 / SR4 / SR5 / SR6
- Gateshead — NE8 / NE9 / NE10 / NE11