The empty miles to a pickup don't show on the rate con, but they show on the fuel card. A load that looks like the best rate on the board can be the worst choice once you count the drive to get there. This deadhead miles cost calculator puts two loads side by side and prices the empty miles honestly.
How it is calculated
- Cost per empty mile = diesel price ÷ MPG + maintenance, tires and other running costs per mile
- Deadhead cost = empty miles × cost per empty mile
- Rate per loaded mile = what the load pays ÷ loaded miles
- True rate = what the load pays ÷ (loaded + empty miles)
- Left after running costs = what the load pays − (loaded + empty miles) × running cost per mile
Fixed costs like the truck payment are left out because they're the same whichever load you take. The comparison is about which load adds more.
A worked example
- A: $2,300, 250 empty mi
- $2.42 true rate
- A: left after $1.23/mi running cost
- $1,130
- B: $2,150, 30 empty mi
- $2.95 true rate
- B: left after running cost
- $1,251
Load A pays $150 more, and loses by $121 once its 220 extra empty miles are counted. It also eats about four more hours of driving, which matter just as much on a tight week.
Deadhead mileage habits that pay
| Habit | Why it works |
|---|---|
| Book the next load before the current one delivers | You choose the pickup, not the leftover |
| Price deadhead into the counter-offer | The broker hears a reason, not just a number |
| Know your lanes' backhaul markets | Some cities are easy to reload from, some aren't |
| Track deadhead share every week | Over 15% is a sign your planning is costing money |
Your full cost per mile, fixed costs included, is in the trucking cost per mile calculator, and a trip's fuel in the trip fuel cost calculator. Power only adds yard runs to the deadhead, covered in power only rates per mile, and container moves have their own empty legs, in intermodal freight rates. How we plan reloads is on power only dispatch.
Results are estimates from the numbers you enter.
SOURCES