Best Sustainability Program: U-Box Load Share Named U.S. Chamber Award Finalist

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 29, 2026--

U-Box® Load Share, the U-Haul ® sharing-economy program that reduces freight emissions and customer costs for moving families, has been named a 2026 Best Sustainability Program finalist by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

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The Foundation’s annual Citizens Awards recognized 37 national finalists spanning nine categories for demonstrating Corporate Social Responsibility through business-led initiatives. The companies were selected for “connecting people to opportunity, strengthening local economies, supporting healthier communities, and improving preparedness before crises occur.”

U-Box Load Share is one of four national finalists in the Best Sustainability Program category. Winners will be revealed Oct. 27-28 at the U.S. Chamber’s Business Solves Conference in Washington, D.C.

“U-Box Load Share is a simple idea: when a U-Haul truck rental customer is headed to the same city, they can tow another family’s U-Box container(s) instead of us loading that container on a separate freight truck,” said Chasan Royer, Vice President of U-Box. “U-Haul customers save money while benefitting the environment. That’s exactly the kind of practical sustainability that is consistent with our objective to lower costs for our current and future customers, while considering the impact on the environment.”

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. Each transaction is monitored and managed by centralized U-Haul personnel. A vetting process is used 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; and funding for newer and safer equipment, along with retrofits that add safety and convenience features.

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 U.S. Chamber recognition adds to a growing list of accolades for U-Box Load Share, which won the 2026 Gold Stevie® for Sustainability and Climate Protection Service from the American Business Awards. It also was named Sustainability Service of the Year by The Business Intelligence Group (2022), Most Environmentally Friendly Service by Best in Biz Awards (2023), and an Innovation finalist for AZ Big Media Champions of Change (2024) among other honors.

About U-HAUL

Founded in 1945, U-Haul is the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers with more than 24,000 rental locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. The U-Haul app makes it easy for customers to use U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 to access trucks anytime through the self-dispatch and -return options on their smartphones with our patented Live Verify technology. Our customers’ patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to approximately 207,600 trucks, 136,500 trailers and 43,200 towing devices. U-Haul, which offers rate transparency to self-storage customers through its1-Year Price Lock, is the third largest storage operator in North America with 1,147,300 rentable storage units and 100.3 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities. U-Haul is the top retailer of propane in the U.S. and the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry. Get the U-Haul app from theApp StoreorGoogle Play.

U-Box Load Share is a 2026 Best Sustainability Program finalist by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

U-Box Load Share is a 2026 Best Sustainability Program finalist by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

U-Box Load Share is a 2026 Best Sustainability Program finalist by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Nigerian billionaire industrialist Aliko Dangote said on Tuesday that American investors would participate in a planned $16 billion East African oil refinery, while insisting that the project remain African-led.

Dangote was speaking in Kenya ahead of Wednesday’s groundbreaking ceremony for the refinery in the coastal city of Lamu. The facility is expected to process 700,000 barrels of crude oil a day.

American investors “will definitely come,” Dangote told journalists, pointing to U.S. backing for his previous projects.

He cited a proposed refinery in Brownsville, Texas, tied to what U.S. President Donald Trump called a $300 billion energy deal, as evidence of continued interest in the oil industry. The figure covers a long-term supply and product-distribution arrangement rather than solely the refinery’s construction cost.

He said three East African countries — Kenya and two others he declined to identify — would acquire a combined 30% stake in the Lamu refinery, which is expected to create 60,000 jobs.

The facility is expected to process crude from Uganda and other African producers that currently export their oil. Kenya does not produce oil commercially but plans to resume exploration in the country’s north in December.

Dangote cautioned against allowing Africans to lose control of major projects. He cited the public offering of shares in his Nigerian refinery, which he said was intended to give ordinary people an opportunity to own part of the business.

The Lamu project comes as Dangote Group plans to invest nearly $50 billion across Africa by 2030 under a strategy intended to put Africans at the forefront of the continent’s development.

Dangote said Africa needed foreign capital but argued that Africans must invest first, develop the continent’s resources and demonstrate the opportunities available to international partners.

He also called for greater use of technology to raise productivity while protecting employment, saying: “AI is not going to displace people.”

He said Africa must process more of its raw materials domestically and retain the resulting jobs and economic value, particularly as younger generations demand greater benefits from the continent’s natural resources.

The refinery is already facing local obstacles. A court this week ordered that the “status quo” be maintained at the site pending resolution of a lawsuit filed by residents claiming ownership of the land.

Dangote told investors that the groundbreaking ceremony would proceed and that his company was “ready” to respond to legal challenges.

A Dangote fuel truck is parked near the Dangote Refinery in Lagos Nigeria, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote speaks during an interview with the Associated Press, in Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Jackson Njehia)