How to Get Haulage Contracts: What Shippers Check First

Most small hauliers start on subcontracted work: loads from a bigger carrier, a freight exchange, or a broker who takes a slice of every job. It pays the lease, but someone else owns the customer, sets the rate and can drop you on a Friday afternoon. Winning work direct from the shipper is how margins and planning improve, and it is also where the questions get harder.

This guide explains how to get haulage contracts direct by looking at it from the buyer's side. A logistics or procurement manager at a manufacturer, builders' merchant or food producer has to justify choosing a five-truck operator over a known name. Below is what they check, the evidence pack that answers those checks before they ask, and where to find the work in the first place.

What do shippers check before giving a haulier direct work?

The checks vary by sector, but most shippers want to know four things: that you are legal, that you are insured, that you run a controlled operation, and that they will know what happened to their freight. The table shows what that usually means in practice.

Two of these trip people up. The licence search is public, so a shipper can see if you have two vehicles authorised and are promising them six trucks a day. Make sure your authorisation and operating centre match what you are offering.

Your OCRS is not public in the same way. DVSA lets operators view their own safety and risk reports, including the latest OCRS and details of when drivers and vehicles were checked by an examiner. If a buyer asks, you have to tell them, so know your bands before the meeting. Our explainer on what an OCRS score is and how to improve it covers what drives the roadworthiness and traffic bands.

The insurance questions you will be asked

Employers' liability is a legal requirement once you employ staff. GOV.UK says the policy must provide at least £5 million of cover from an authorised insurer, and that you can be fined £2,500 for each day you are not properly insured. Shippers will ask for the certificate.

Goods in transit and public liability are not set by law in the same way, but shippers will look at the limits. A pallet of mixed electronics and a load of aggregate carry very different values, and a buyer who has priced their freight will compare it with your cover limit. Ask your broker what your goods in transit policy excludes before the shipper asks, and take professional advice on cover levels.

Build a compliance pack before you pitch

A buyer who gets a tidy PDF the same day is halfway to a yes. One who waits a week for scanned certificates starts wondering about your other paperwork.

Direct contract evidence pack, checklist:

• Company details: registered name, company number, VAT number, trading address
• Operator licence number, type, authorised vehicles and trailers, operating centre
• Transport manager name (standard licence) and how they are engaged
• Insurance certificates: employers' liability, goods in transit, public liability, with expiry dates
• A one-page summary of your walkaround, defect reporting and VOR process
• PMI interval and the name of your maintenance provider
• Sample records: one completed walkaround check with photos, one closed defect, one PMI sheet (redact driver details you do not need to share)
• Sample proof of delivery with signature, photo, time and date
• Fleet list: vehicle types, trailer types, Euro emissions standards, tail lifts or specialist kit
• Accreditations held and their expiry dates
• Out-of-hours contact and how you report delays

Review the pack every quarter. An expired insurance certificate in a tender response looks worse than no certificate at all.

Show service evidence, not promises

Every haulier says they are reliable. Treat the first loads as an audition.

Proof of delivery is the part of service a buyer actually sees. A POD that arrives the same day, legible, with a photo of the load on the customer's bay and a time stamp, tells them their invoices will reconcile and their own customers will not ring them first. A crumpled paper note turning up a week later tells them the opposite. If you are still on paper, read our guide to electronic proof of delivery for UK haulage.

Be honest about visibility. If you do not run live tracking, say so, and explain what you do instead: a named planner, a call or message when a driver is delayed at a gatehouse, and a delivered confirmation as soon as the POD is captured. A call before the booking-in slot is missed is worth more than a promise.

Where to find direct haulage contracts

Direct work rarely arrives from a single advert. The usual sources:

• Local shippers you already pass. Industrial estates within your normal operating radius, builders' merchants, agricultural suppliers, manufacturers with their own yard. Ask who handles transport, not who the MD is.
• Overflow from shippers with their own fleets. Own-account operators often need peak or specialist cover. Peak lead times start early, so approach them in late summer for the run-up to Christmas.
• Public sector contracts. GOV.UK's Contracts Finder lists government contracts over £12,000 including VAT, with higher-value contracts on the Find a Tender service. Councils and public bodies buy haulage and waste transport, and a tender response will lean heavily on the evidence pack above.
• Referrals from existing customers. A shipper you deliver to may introduce you to their suppliers.

One caution: if you subcontract for a carrier, check your agreement for non-solicitation terms before approaching their customers.

Price the first contract properly

The temptation is to win the first direct contract by undercutting. That usually ends with a rate you cannot raise and a customer who expects it forever. Work out cost per mile and per day, add waiting time terms, and agree a fuel surcharge mechanism at the start. Our haulage quotation checklist walks through what to include so the first quote is one you can live with.

Example, fictional numbers: Ridgeway Haulage, a four-truck operator, is offered three regular runs a week for a timber merchant. They quote on a day rate with a stated waiting time charge after two hours on site, a monthly fuel adjustment linked to a published diesel index, and 30-day payment terms. The buyer pushes on the rate, Ridgeway holds, and offers a four-week trial instead. The trial evidence wins the contract.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a standard operator licence to haul for other businesses?

Yes, if you carry other people's goods for hire or reward. GOV.UK's goods vehicle operator licensing guide says a restricted licence usually allows you to carry only your own goods. A standard licence also requires a nominated transport manager.

Can a shipper see my OCRS?

Not through a public search. Operators view their own OCRS through DVSA's report service, so a shipper relies on you to share it. Expect the question in tenders and on supplier questionnaires.

Do I need FORS to win haulage contracts?

Only where the contract or site asks for it, which is common in construction and some urban delivery work. Many shippers have no such requirement, but they still expect the vehicle and driver controls FORS looks for.

How long does it take to win a direct contract?

There is no fixed timescale. Small operators often start with a trial period or overflow loads, and the decision follows the evidence from those loads.

Where HauliK fits

HauliK keeps the records that go into an evidence pack: walkaround checks with photos and GPS-stamped records at the time of the check, defects and VOR decisions, vehicle and driver expiry dates, and on the Fleet plan, photo and signature proof of delivery that the office can send the same day.

It will not win the contract for you, and it does not provide live tracking. It does mean that when a buyer asks for a sample check, a closed defect and a POD, you can find them in a minute. The compliance records are included from the Checks plan, and there is a 14-day free trial with no card needed.