Start with the right number
Rate per loaded mile hides the empty miles. Rate per total mile doesn't. A load that pays $1,800 for 600 miles looks like $3.00 a mile. If you drive 120 empty to get to it, it's $2.50 per total mile. Know your own break-even with the cost per mile calculator, which includes your deadhead percent, then hold every load up to it on total miles.
Plan two loads at a time
- Before you book a load, look at where it delivers. Is there freight coming out of there on the day you'll be empty?
- Price the pair. Load one, the best realistic reload, and the empty miles between them. Divide by total miles.
- Line up the reload before you deliver. Call and email brokers with loads near your delivery the day before, not the hour after.
- Have a backup. If the reload falls through, know the next best market within a few hours of empty driving.
Know which markets reload
Some places ship out a lot more freight than they take in, and some are the other way around. Delivering into a strong outbound market makes the next load easy. Delivering into a weak one is how a great rate turns into a bad week.
- Usually easy to reload: big distribution and port markets like Atlanta, Chicago, Southern California and the Texas border crossings.
- Usually harder: places that mostly receive freight. Florida for much of the year is the classic one. Parts of New England and thin rural areas can be tough too.
- It changes with the season. Produce season can turn a dead market into a hot one for a few weeks. See our notes on Florida, California and Georgia.
Other ways to cut empty miles
- Get set up with brokers before you need them. A setup packet sent this week is a reload you can take next week.
- Use broker apps for repeat freight. Brokers you've hauled for well post their freight to their own apps first.
- Watch the day of the week. Friday deliveries into slow markets can mean a weekend with no freight.
- Plan around home time. Know where you need to be on Friday on Monday, not on Thursday.
- Track your deadhead percent every week. If you don't measure it, you can't tell whether it's getting better.
When deadhead is the right call
Sometimes the best move is to drive empty. If the only load out pays well under your minimum and drops you somewhere worse, 150 empty miles to a strong market can beat it. Do the math both ways, on total miles, and pick the one that leaves you better off at the end of the week.
How TenFour handles reloads
Every truck gets its own dispatcher. We score every load on rate per total mile, deadhead included, and your minimum counts the empty miles too. We look at where a load leaves you before we book it, plan around your home time, and send a weekly report every Monday with rate per total mile and deadhead percent so you can see the trend.
Questions
What is deadhead?
Deadhead is any mile you drive without a paying load: to the first pickup, between loads, or home. You pay for every one of those miles out of what the loaded miles earn.
How do I compare two loads with different deadhead?
Add the deadhead to the loaded miles and divide the rate by the total. $1,800 for 600 loaded miles with 120 empty to get there is $2.50 per total mile, not $3.00.
Should I ever take a cheap load?
Sometimes. A short cheap load into a strong market can beat sitting a day or deadheading 300 miles. Compare the two loads together, on total miles, against your minimum.
When should I book the reload?
Before you deliver. Once you're empty, every broker can tell, and you're bidding against every other truck in the area that's also empty.
Want a dispatcher who works for your margin?
Every truck gets its own dispatcher. We judge every load on rate per total mile, deadhead included, and never book under your minimum. Brokers pay you directly.