Two went out east this week. One loaded with plant and equipment bound for Newcastle and then Brisbane, and one running through to Brisbane with a driver who lives there.
The second one is worth talking about, because it explains something most people never get told when they ring up asking for a price across the country.
Why the return leg decides your price
Freight across the Nullarbor works on a simple bit of arithmetic. A truck has to come back. If it comes back empty, the customer going one way pays for both legs, whether anyone says so out loud or not.
So the freight that gets the sharpest rate is the freight that fits a truck already committed to that direction. This week that was a Brisbane based driver heading home with a load on. He is going there regardless, so putting freight on the deck costs a lot less than sending a truck over specially.
The practical version, if you are the one buying the freight: if your dates have even a few days of movement in them, say so when you ring. It is often the difference between a premium rate and a sensible one.
Plant and machinery to Newcastle
The other load was plant, chained down across a multi trailer setup and running to Newcastle before carrying on to Brisbane.
Machinery is its own job. It has to be loaded so the weight sits right across the axles, restrained properly for the distance, and routed for the height and width it finishes up at. That is a different conversation to a pallet of general freight, and it is the sort of work the gear here is set up for.
If you have got machinery or general freight that needs to go east, give Spanner a call on 0429 807 308 and tell him roughly when it needs to move. If it lines up with something already heading that way, you will get a better number.