A typical open car transporter carries seven or eight cars on two decks. Whether those spaces are filled by one customer or by four changes how the job is planned, how quickly it moves and what it costs. That is why Haulio focuses on full truck loads.
By the numbers: 21.8% of road freight kilometres in the EU in 2023 were driven by empty trucks (Eurostat). A full load from pickup to delivery, with a return load on the way back, is the simplest way to avoid paying for that.
What counts as a full truck load
A full truck load (FTL) is a booking that fills the trailer with one customer's vehicles, from one pickup area to one delivery area. One collection slot, one driver, one set of CMR paperwork, one delivery.
Why full loads cost less per car
Most of a truck's cost is the truck: driver, fuel, tolls, ferries and depreciation. Those costs barely change with the number of cars on board. A full load divides them across every vehicle, instead of leaving empty spaces that someone still has to pay for.
Why full loads move faster
Shared loads wait for the truck to fill up and then stop at several pickups and drop-offs. A full load goes when it is ready, straight from pickup to delivery. Carriers also prefer full loads, so they are quicker to schedule. At Haulio, every load is delivered within 10 business days, and in 4 on average.
Fewer stops, fewer handovers, fewer surprises
Every extra stop is another handover and another chance for a delay or a dispute. A full load has two handovers, both documented with a signed CMR and photos of every car.
Buying fewer than seven cars?
You don't need a single big purchase to fill a truck. Most dealers fill one by:
- Batching purchases from the same region, auction or dealer group over a week or two.
- Timing pickups together. Cars that are ready on different days can still travel on one truck if the pickup window allows it.
- Telling us what you're sourcing. Share where you buy and how often, and we help you plan purchases into full loads.
The carrier's side
For car carriers, full loads are the most attractive work: fewer stops, less loading time and one payer. That is why carriers on Haulio compete for them, which keeps your load moving.
Ready to move your next load? Request a full truck load quote in under a minute.
Sources
- Eurostat: empty running in EU road freight.
Frequently asked questions
How many cars are on a full truck load?
Typically seven or eight on an open two-deck car transporter, depending on the size of the vehicles.
Does Haulio move single cars?
Not yet. Haulio moves full truck loads only, and helps you combine purchases into full loads.
Written by the Haulio team in Copenhagen. We run a car transport marketplace for Europe, primarily in and out of the Nordics, and write about what we see on it every day.
