What are empty miles
really costing you?
Enter load revenue, loaded miles, deadhead miles, and your cost per mile — see your deadhead percentage, its true cost, and your real revenue per mile.
Deadhead % = deadhead ÷ (loaded + deadhead). Effective rate subtracts deadhead fuel/operating cost from revenue, spread over loaded miles.
Cut deadhead with smarter dispatch.
Alogix tracks loaded vs empty miles on every load and surfaces backhaul opportunities so your trucks stay loaded.
What are deadhead miles?
Deadhead miles — also called empty miles — are the miles a truck drives without a paying load on board. The most common deadhead is the drive from where you delivered to where your next load picks up. Deadhead miles still burn fuel, put wear on the truck, and consume the driver's clock, but they generate zero revenue. That is why two loads with the same rate per loaded mile can have very different real profitability: the one with more deadhead actually pays less.
What's a good deadhead percentage?
Deadhead percentage is empty miles divided by total miles. Under 10% is excellent — you are keeping the truck loaded and lanes tight. 10–20% is typical for most carriers and reflects normal repositioning between loads. Over 20% hurts: at that point a meaningful chunk of every operating dollar is going toward miles that earn nothing, and you need a higher rate to compensate. The fleet average across US carriers hovers around 15–18%, so consistently beating that is a real competitive edge.
How to reduce deadhead miles
- 01Build load triangles — chain three loads that return you near home base instead of two long out-and-backs.
- 02Pre-book backhauls before you deliver, so the truck is never sitting empty waiting for freight.
- 03Use lane history to favor regions where outbound and inbound freight are balanced.
- 04Negotiate deadhead pay into the rate when a long repositioning move is unavoidable.
- 05Track deadhead percentage per driver and per lane so you can see where empty miles concentrate.