News / UK hauliers ditch container work in favour of Amazon 'gold rush'

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An increasing number of UK hauliers are switching to Amazon, the income from the online retailer now more than double what they can get from container work.

One owner-operator told The Loadstar they were “pulling £1,300, running two shifts a day”, amounting to substantial profits after deductions for driver wages and fuel.

“We are looking to put five trucks on the scheme Amazon runs because the profits are so good – although, it is not always like this,” he conceded.

“Compared with container work – where you’re lucky to get £600 a shift and are only able to handle one shift a day – it is mostly a better deal. Added to this, the work is cleaner and there is much less waiting time involved.”

Amazon has been luring truckers and haulage firms through its Freight Partner scheme, offering “annual revenue potential” of £1.1m-£1.6m.

Another haulier told The Loadstar it had plans to add a further five trucks through the Amazon scheme, up from the seven drivers it was currently running, “they all used to be container drivers”.

Truckers and hauliers may be being tempted towards e-commerce opportunities, but it appears there has been a notable elevation of rates on container work, a figure of £600 per box, from an average of £420 in September, has been quoted.

And some have suggested this is not a simple “short-term bump” to offset fears of driver desertion, but indicative that wages would not be returning to the “pittances” offered previously.