3.2.2 Utilization efficiency—the back-haul effect. One third of the road transport distance is run empty, according to a study by McKinnon (1996). This phenomenon is known as the back-haul effect, empty running or unbalanced flows. The
problem occurs when the demand is asymmetric in volume at a certain time. The problem is universal. For example, oil tankers to Kuwait are emptier than those from Kuwait, and commuter traffic is denser in the morning into cities than away from cities. It is a common argument from politicians that investments in new roads are not needed because the hauliers must first utilize the slack capacity in the non-filled lorries. The market pressure to work on lessening the back-haul effect is very strong, since the availability of backloads is an important factor for determining the profitability of a transport operator. A common measure is to apply different pricing measures to attract goods to create a balance. McKinnon (2007) argues that research shows a decline in empty back-haul mainly as a result of lengthening of freight journeys, growth of reverse logistics, increase in number of load matching agencies and Internet freight exchanges and various corporate initiatives to counter the back-haul effect. Vierth and Mellin (2008) exemplify this with the Swedish supermarket chain ICA, which has decreased the number of empty backloads by vertically integrating transport with an increase in consolidation in ICA’s warehouses and collecting inbound supplies with returning delivery vehicles. On the other hand, when ICA takes
control of its flow of soft drinks, the efficiency for Coca Cola might go down. Nevertheless, some measures to eliminate the back-haul effect which would potentially benefit all actors might lower the frequency and increase the lead time for shippers.