How deadhead miles affect profitability
Deadhead is driving without a paying load. It can include the trip to pickup, repositioning after delivery and an empty return home. Those miles consume fuel, tires and time even when the rate confirmation pays only for loaded miles.
Use the TruKaro load analyzer to compare pay, loaded miles, deadhead and estimated fuel. Then compare the result with your own cost-per-mile calculation; revenue after fuel is not net profit.
Two rates describe the same load
Loaded-mile revenue = total load revenue ÷ loaded miles.
All-mile revenue = total load revenue ÷ (loaded miles + deadhead miles).
Include the revenue you actually expect to collect. Do not count an unapproved detention or layover payment as guaranteed income. Use the same revenue basis when comparing offers—for example, whether the quoted rate includes fuel surcharge.
A hypothetical load that looks better on the board
Assume $1,200 in load revenue, 500 loaded miles and 100 deadhead miles. Assume 6 MPG and $4.00 diesel, purely for this example.
| Calculation | Result |
|---|---|
| Loaded-mile revenue: $1,200 ÷ 500 | $2.40/mile |
| Total miles: 500 + 100 | 600 miles |
| All-mile revenue: $1,200 ÷ 600 | $2.00/mile |
| Gallons: 600 ÷ 6 | 100 gallons |
| Fuel cost: 100 × $4.00 | $400 |
| Revenue after fuel: $1,200 − $400 | $800 |
The $800 still has to cover other costs and owner compensation. Suppose your planning model is $1.70 per total mile, including fuel. This trip's allocated operating cost is 600 × $1.70 = $1,020, leaving $180 before owner pay, taxes or items omitted from that model. Do not subtract the $400 fuel again: it is already included in the $1.70.
A monthly average cost assigns fixed costs across miles; it is useful for sustainability planning but is not the same as the incremental cash cost of accepting one more load.
Count the empty return, too
If you also expect 100 unpaid miles after delivery, total miles become 700. All-mile revenue falls to $1,200 ÷ 700 = about $1.71. At the same $1.70 modeled cost, allocated operating cost becomes $1,190, leaving $10 before the excluded items.
This does not mean every return is empty. It means your plan should reflect the next load you reasonably expect, rather than assuming a backhaul will appear. Avoid counting repositioning twice when combining multiple loads into a round-trip analysis.
Get the percentage right
Deadhead percentage = empty miles ÷ total miles × 100.
In the first example, 100 ÷ 600 × 100 = 16.67%. Dividing by the 500 loaded miles gives 20%, which is a different ratio. TruKaro's cost-per-mile form asks for empty miles as a percentage of total miles.
If 20% of total miles are empty, only 80% earn revenue. An all-mile cost of $1.60 therefore needs $1.60 ÷ 0.80 = $2.00 per loaded mile to recover those modeled costs. That is a 25% increase over the all-mile cost, not a 20% increase. It is arithmetic, not a market-rate recommendation.
Time can change the answer again
A short load with a long appointment wait may tie up the truck longer than a higher-mileage alternative. Compare total time committed, accessorial terms, tolls, likely next pickup and home-time requirements. A per-mile number alone cannot tell you which option best fits the business.
Before booking, enter realistic empty miles in the load analyzer, compare all-mile revenue with the cost-per-mile calculator, and use the cash-runway calculator to see how much room you have to wait for a better opportunity.