Guide
Deadhead math.
Empty miles cost exactly what loaded miles cost and pay nothing. Here is what that does to a rate.
Same load, two outcomes
Example A — no deadhead
- Loaded miles
- 400 mi
- Deadhead
- 0 mi
- Rate
- $2.10 / loaded mi
- Revenue
- $840.00
- Rate on total miles
- $2.10 / mi
- Cost at $1.65 / mi
- $660.00
- Left over
- $180.00
Example B — 90 miles deadhead
- Loaded miles
- 400 mi
- Deadhead
- 90 mi
- Rate
- $2.10 / loaded mi
- Revenue
- $840.00
- Rate on total miles (490)
- $1.71 / mi
- Cost at $1.65 / mi
- $808.50
- Left over
- $31.50
Nothing changed about the freight, the broker, or the rate. Ninety empty miles took roughly $148 out of the day. On a truck running four loads a week, that habit is the difference between a good month and a month you cannot explain.
The rule
Divide the whole check by loaded plus empty miles. That is the only rate figure that can be compared to your cost per mile. If a posting is $2.00 and a quarter of your miles run empty, you are working at about $1.50.
When empty miles are worth it
- The empty run puts you in a market with real outbound freight instead of a hole.
- The load pays enough over your floor that the empty miles are already covered.
- It gets you home on schedule, and you are pricing that on purpose.
- It is a customer who keeps you loaded the rest of the week.
The point is never zero deadhead. The point is deadhead you decided on before the trailer was hooked.
Next
Run your own numbers in the Cost Per Mile Calculator, then score a real offer with the Profit X-Ray.