Deadhead miles: why a $3-per-mile load can pay much less
A broker's rate per mile counts only the loaded miles. Your truck burns fuel, wear and time on every mile, empty or not. Here's what that does to two loads with the same headline rate.
Two offers at $3.00 a loaded mile
Both pay $1,500 for 500 loaded miles. Same rate, same miles. The only difference is how far you drive empty to the pickup: 20 miles for one, 150 for the other. Your truck costs $1.84 a mile to run, including your own pay. That's the example figure on the cost per mile calculator.
| 20 miles deadhead | 150 miles deadhead | |
|---|---|---|
| Total miles | 520 | 650 |
| Rate per loaded mile | $3.00 | $3.00 |
| Rate per total mile | $2.88 | $2.31 |
| Cost at $1.84 a mile | $956.80 | $1,196.00 |
| Left after costs and your pay | $543.20 | $304.00 |
The extra 130 empty miles cost $239.20: 130 × $1.84. That's 44% of the profit gone, at the same headline rate.
The calculation
rate per total mile = offer ÷ (loaded miles + deadhead miles)
what's left = offer − (total miles × your cost per mile)
Compare the rate per total mile with your cost per mile. If it's lower, the load loses money however good the loaded rate looks.
How much deadhead can a load carry?
Divide the offer by your cost per mile to find the most miles it can pay for: $1,500 ÷ $1.84 = about 815 miles. Take away the 500 loaded and this load stops covering your costs and pay at around 315 miles of deadhead. Long before that, it stops meeting any reasonable profit target.
What to do about it
- Quote the broker your all-miles number. "With 150 empty to get there I need $1,750" is a reason, not a haggle. That's the $1,500 plus the $239.20 the extra miles cost, rounded up.
- Count the deadhead out, too. If the delivery area is weak for reloads, the empty miles to your next load belong to this one. Evaluating an empty return.
- Watch the share. Deadhead over about a fifth of total miles is a warning sign; KRYSTAL flags anything over 20%.
Doing it in KRYSTAL
Enter deadhead with every offer. KRYSTAL divides every per-mile figure by total miles, never by loaded miles alone, and shows the deadhead share, a deadhead rating and the rate per total mile in each report. See a report.
Check your own deadhead now
The free calculator shows rate per total mile for any offer.