U-Haul® has won the Gold Stevie®, the top honor from the American Business Awards, for the numerous customer and climate benefits created by the highly regarded U-Box® Load Share program.
U-Box Load Share was awarded the top Sustainability and Climate Protection Service for 2026. Winners were determined by the highest average scores from more than 250 professionals worldwide who judged entries.
U-Haul and other category winners will be honored on June 9 in New York City.
American Business Awards judges applauded U-Box Load Share’s innovative model and real-world results, describing the program as “an exceptional entry because it addresses high-emission logistics through a ‘people helping people’ community model”; a “well-executed sustainability concept with clear, quantifiable impact”; and “a strong, practical innovation with clear sustainability impact and solid adoption metrics.”
One judge stated it was “exciting to see a market-leader think outside the box to drive sustainability and savings across the board.”
A Load Share occurs when a family moving its goods in a U-Haul truck agrees to tow a trailer loaded with another family’s portable moving container to the same destination city. The result is a collaboration producing positive results for customers, communities, and the environment simultaneously.
Each transaction is monitored and managed by centralized U-Haul personnel. A vetting process is utilized to pre-select potential candidates, with priority on customers with previous rental truck and towing experience.
Any cost savings from not needing to contract a 53-foot Class 8 freight tractor-trailer for the U-Box shipment is allocated in three ways:
- A discount to the U-Haul truck rental customer’s rate
- Lower one-way rates charged to all U-Box customers
- Funding newer and safer equipment, and retrofitting existing equipment with improved safety and convenience features
Championed by the U-Haul Corporate Sustainability team, U-Box Load Share is neither intended nor designed to make the Company a profit. It was created to facilitate people helping one another and to benefit the environment through the elimination of carbon emissions from redundant freight tractor-trailer trips.
By the end of 2026, U-Box Load Share will have eliminated more than 20 million miles of heavy-duty freight travel and associated CO2 emissions since the program’s inception. What’s more, U-Haul will have generated $44.5 million in customer cost savings over that span.
U-Box Load Share also tackles an ongoing challenge: the truck driver shortage that contributes to delayed deliveries and rising shipping costs. By providing a scalable, community-powered alternative, U-Haul offers a practical solution in today’s gig economy that reduces reliance on traditional freight infrastructure.
The Gold Stevie adds to a growing list of accolades for U-Box Load Share, which has been recognized as the Sustainability Service of the Year by The Business Intelligence Group (2022); the Most Environmentally Friendly Service by Best in Biz Awards (2023); and an Innovation finalist for AZ Big Media’s Champions of Change (2024).
Find a full list of American Business Awards winners at ABA.StevieAwards.com.
