Freight Insights
What the UK's 30% Empty-Running Benchmark Means for Malaysian Hauliers
UK statistics put empty HGV running at 30% of total vehicle kilometres in 2024. It is an international reference point, not a Malaysian figure — here is how to read it.
Published 15 August 2026
According to the UK Department for Transport, empty running by heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) accounted for 30% of total HGV vehicle kilometres in 2024.
What this figure actually is
This is a UK domestic road freight statistic — it describes the proportion of distance UK-registered HGVs travelled without a load in 2024. There is no equivalent published, verified figure for Malaysia, so this number should be read as international context on the scale of the empty-running problem in road freight generally, not as a claim about Malaysian roads.
Why the underlying problem still applies here
The mechanics behind empty running are not specific to the UK: a lorry delivers a load, and unless there happens to be a return load already lined up, the trip back runs empty. That dynamic exists on any road freight network, including West Malaysia's, even without a published local benchmark to cite.
What transporters can do regardless of the exact number
Whatever the true local proportion turns out to be, the response is the same: make an available return route visible so a same-direction shipper has a chance to find it before the lorry heads back empty.
Source: UK Department for Transport, Domestic Road Freight Statistics 2024.