U-Haul's U-Box Load Share pays moving families to tow each other's containers

U-Box is U-Haul's portable moving container, and between cities the containers normally travel on contracted 53-foot Class 8 freight tractors. Load Share, U-Haul's sharing-economy program, instead offers a family renting a U-Haul truck a discount to tow a trailer carrying another family's container — when both are headed to the same destination city. 'U-Haul customers save money while benefiting the environment,' U-Box vice president Chasan Royer said in the announcement.

The match is managed rather than left to chance: a vetting process pre-selects candidates, with priority on customers who have previous rental-truck and towing experience, and centralized U-Haul personnel monitor and manage every Load Share transaction. The money saved by not contracting the freight tractor-trailer is allocated three ways: a discount on the towing customer's truck rental, lower one-way rates for all U-Box customers, and funding for newer and safer equipment plus safety retrofits.

The company says that by the end of 2026 the program will have eliminated more than 20 million miles of heavy-duty freight travel and its CO2 since inception, generating $44.5 million in customer cost savings, while easing the truck-driver shortage that delays deliveries. Third parties have recognized it: the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation named U-Box Load Share a 2026 Best Sustainability Program finalist, one of four in the category.

The freight rides on trips customers were already making, so the marginal cost of moving the container drops to a trailer and a discount.

Vetting for towing experience and centralized monitoring keep amateur towing from becoming a safety and liability problem.

Splitting the avoided freight cost three ways keeps every side in the deal: the tower earns a discount, other customers get lower one-way rates, and U-Haul funds safer equipment.

The alternative — dedicated Class 8 freight — is exposed to the industry-wide driver shortage, so a community-powered lane also hedges capacity.

Idle capacity people already have — a tow hitch on a trip they were making anyway — can replace dedicated freight if you vet, monitor and split the savings.

U-Box Load Share was one of four national finalists for Best Sustainability Program in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation's 2026 Citizens Awards, with winners to be revealed Oct 27-28 at the Business Solves Conference in Washington, D.C. It had already won a 2026 Gold Stevie from the American Business Awards, Business Intelligence Group's Sustainability Service of the Year (2022) and Best in Biz Awards' Most Environmentally Friendly Service (2023). The company projects its cumulative mileage and savings figures to keep growing through the end of 2026.