Edition 025
Return Loads in Kenya and Tanzania: Finding Cargo for the Trip Back
Published
Tanzania's standard gauge railway began carrying freight between Dar es Salaam and Dodoma on 27 June 2025, and the government said haulage straight from the port would follow in February 2026. Rail changes where some loads start; it does not remove the empty trip home. A practical guide to finding return loads in Kenya and Tanzania, the words cargo owners search with, and the checks that matter before you load.
On 27 June 2025, Tanzania Railways Corporation began running a daily freight train on the standard gauge railway from Pugu station in Dar es Salaam to Ihumwa in Dodoma, The Citizen reported. In November 2025 the government said freight haulage straight from Dar es Salaam port to Dodoma would officially begin in February 2026, once the four-kilometre Portlink section was complete. Check the railway's current service before planning around it. For truck owners on the Dar es Salaam to Dodoma road, the change is a reminder that loads move, and that the trip back still needs paying cargo.
HOW TO FIND A RETURN LOAD
Post your return route before you leave, not after you unload. Cargo owners plan days ahead, so a vehicle that announces its route, date and space early is easier to match than one that starts asking on arrival.
Say exactly what you can carry: vehicle type (truck, van or pickup), payload in tonnes, body type such as open, closed, refrigerated, tanker or flatbed, and the date you will be empty. A specific offer attracts specific cargo.
Use the words cargo owners search with. Google's search suggestions, checked by Sontaq on 27 October 2026, include “kusafirisha mizigo mikoani” (moving cargo up-country) and “kusafirisha mizigo mwanza” in Tanzania, and “return loads” and “return load whatsapp group” in Kenya. In Swahili a return load is “mzigo wa kurudi”.
Check the cargo owner before you load. Agree the price, when and how you will be paid, and who pays for loading, waiting and border costs, in writing, and ask for the delivery documents. Posts in WhatsApp and Facebook groups move fast, but a post is not a verified load.
Check the load is legal for your vehicle. The EAC vehicle load control law sets a maximum gross vehicle weight of 56 tonnes and a maximum of seven axles, as passed by the East African Legislative Assembly in 2013. An overloaded return trip risks weighbridge penalties.
Rates are agreed directly between the cargo owner and the transporter. Sontaq does not publish or set prices.
QUICK ANSWERS
What is a return load? A return load, or backload, is cargo a vehicle carries on its way back after delivering its main load, so the trip home earns money instead of running empty.
Where do truck owners in Kenya and Tanzania find return loads? Common channels are brokers, clearing agents, transport associations and WhatsApp or Facebook groups. An online marketplace such as Sontaq adds one more channel: post your route and be matched with cargo posted along it.
How does Sontaq help find a return load? Post your vehicle, its capacity and the route you will travel. Sontaq looks for cargo posted along the same route; when there is a match you contact the cargo owner directly by WhatsApp, call or message. If no cargo has been posted on your route, there is no match.
Is a return load guaranteed? No. No platform or group can promise a load on every route. Post early, check the cargo owner and agree the terms directly.
Does it cost anything? Posting, seeing relevant matches and contacting the other party are free on Sontaq's core marketplace.
Can cargo owners use the same route? Yes. A cargo owner posts what needs to move, from where and to where, and Sontaq looks for transport posted along the same route.
What to watch next
- Whether port-to-Dodoma freight on the standard gauge railway runs on schedule, and how much Dar es Salaam to Dodoma road cargo moves to rail
- Tanzania Railways Corporation's next freight services beyond Dodoma
- Weighbridge enforcement of the EAC load limits on the Central and Northern corridors
Sontaq analysis
Rail is changing where some Tanzanian loads start, but it does not remove the empty trip home. For a vehicle owner the advantage is information: knowing early which cargo is moving on your return route, from whom and on what terms. Sontaq's role is narrow and direct: it helps a posted route meet posted cargo, and the two parties agree everything else themselves. To start, open Sontaq, sign in with your WhatsApp number, open “Explore More with Sontaq” and choose “Post Transport”. Cargo owners choose “Post Cargo”.
