The latest payload loss research from the Road Haulage Association (RHA) highlights a growing challenge facing the transition to low-emission freight. While electric HGVs remain central to the UK’s decarbonisation strategy, increased vehicle weight and reduced payload capacity are creating operational and commercial pressures for operators already working within tight margins.
The findings suggest that decarbonisation is no longer just a vehicle technology issue. It is increasingly tied to infrastructure readiness, operational efficiency, supply chain resilience and the wider economics of logistics. The report also reinforces a broader industry concern: sustainability targets will only succeed if they can work alongside commercially viable freight operations.
Decarbonisation Cannot Come at the Cost of Efficiency
The transition to low-emission logistics is often discussed in terms of vehicle innovation, charging infrastructure and investment. However, one of the less visible barriers to freight decarbonisation is now attracting growing attention across the sector: payload loss.
Electric HGVs are significantly heavier than diesel equivalents due to battery systems, reducing the amount of freight operators can legally carry per journey. In practical terms, fewer goods per vehicle can mean more trips to move the same volume of freight.
Key finding
The RHA estimates that some electric HGV configurations could require up to 11.8% more journeys compared with diesel alternatives due to payload restrictions.
For a sector already managing driver shortages, rising costs and increasing pressure to reduce emissions, this creates a difficult balance. While electric vehicles reduce tailpipe emissions, additional journeys can increase congestion, reduce operational efficiency and place further strain on logistics networks.
For many operators, efficiency is not simply a performance metric, it directly affects commercial viability. Haulage businesses are often operating on margins of around 2%, leaving limited capacity to absorb higher operating costs or reduced utilisation.
The Economics of Transition Still Matter
Long-term sustainability ambitions remain important, but the pace of adoption will ultimately depend on whether low-emission freight can operate within realistic commercial models.
The RHA’s analysis indicates that annual operating costs for some electric HGV configurations may exceed diesel equivalents by more than £28,000 per vehicle per year, depending on usage patterns and infrastructure access.
Industry highlight
The commercial case for electric freight remains heavily influenced by:
- charging infrastructure availability
- energy costs
- route suitability
- payload efficiency
- operational downtime
This highlights a wider issue within freight decarbonisation. Technology alone will not drive transition at scale if operators cannot maintain profitability and service performance at the same time.
Increasingly, businesses are recognising that sustainability and operational efficiency must evolve together. The most effective decarbonisation strategies are now being shaped around resilience, productivity and long-term competitiveness — not emissions reduction in isolation.
Infrastructure Is Becoming the Central Challenge
Across the logistics sector, infrastructure readiness is rapidly emerging as one of the biggest barriers to progress.
Decarbonising freight requires far more than replacing diesel fleets with electric alternatives. It also depends on:
- large-scale charging infrastructure
- upgraded energy capacity
- secure freight facilities
- more connected, data-driven supply chains
At the same time, research across logistics and supply chain management continues to show that visibility and coordination play a critical role in reducing inefficiency. Better tracking, route optimisation and data sharing can help reduce unnecessary movement while improving fleet utilisation and resilience.
Logistics is increasingly shifting from a model focused purely on movement to one centred on coordination, optimisation and network visibility. Freight decarbonisation is becoming as much a systems challenge as an energy transition.
A Sector Facing Pressure from Multiple Directions
The payload debate is emerging alongside wider operational pressures already affecting UK logistics.
Freight crime, infrastructure shortages and supply chain disruption continue to create additional strain across the sector. Shortages in secure truck parking and increasing levels of organised cargo theft are adding further operational and financial risk for operators.
These pressures are interconnected. As logistics networks become more constrained, the importance of resilient and efficient freight systems becomes even greater. Sustainability targets cannot be separated from operational stability and long-term commercial resilience.
This is why the conversation around freight decarbonisation is becoming more nuanced. The challenge is no longer simply replacing diesel vehicles with electric alternatives. It is about creating logistics systems that can remain commercially viable, operationally resilient and environmentally sustainable at the same time.
The Next Phase of Sustainable Logistics
The findings from the RHA report point towards a more practical phase of freight decarbonisation. Industry focus is beginning to move beyond broad sustainability commitments and towards the operational realities required to make transition achievable at scale.
For operators, the challenge now extends beyond reducing emissions alone. It includes maintaining service reliability, managing costs, improving infrastructure access and building more connected supply chains capable of supporting long-term change.
The wider implication is significant. Freight underpins retail, manufacturing, construction and critical national supply chains, meaning inefficiencies within logistics quickly impact the broader economy.
As a result, the future of sustainable freight will depend not only on vehicle technology, but on coordinated investment, infrastructure planning and operational systems that allow decarbonisation to work in practice.
These challenges, from payload loss and infrastructure readiness to the wider economics of freight decarbonisation, are becoming central to the future of UK logistics.
As the industry continues to navigate the transition to low-emission transport, collaboration between operators, policymakers and infrastructure providers will play an increasingly important role in shaping practical long-term solutions.
Chris Ashley from the Road Haulage Association will be joining a panel discussion and speaking at SLL London 2026, where industry leaders will explore the operational realities, challenges and opportunities surrounding sustainable freight and logistics transformation. For more information and to grab your tickets early, visit: SLL2026 London – Shape Tomorrow
Read the full RHA payload loss report: RHA-Payload-loss-survey-report_230326_web-spreads.pdf