How do I calculate deadhead cost?

Multiply your empty miles by your cost per mile. That's the direct cost. The bigger effect is on your rate per mile: divide the load's pay by loaded miles PLUS deadhead miles to get what it actually pays. A $2,200 load over 800 miles with 150 deadhead pays $2.32 a mile, not the $2.75 advertised.

What is an acceptable deadhead percentage?

Lower is better, and what's acceptable depends on your equipment and lanes — specialised equipment generally runs more deadhead than dry van because the freight is less dense. Rather than chasing a benchmark, track your own figure and use it in your cost per mile, because that's where it actually affects your business.

Should I ever take a load with high deadhead?

Yes, when it repositions you into a stronger market or gets you home. A load with 200 empty miles that puts you in a market reloading at $3.00 can beat a zero-deadhead load into somewhere with forty trucks and six loads. Compare on net profit and on where each load leaves you, not on advertised rate.

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Deadhead calculator

The rate on the board ignores the miles you drive to get there. This shows you what the load actually pays, and which of two loads is genuinely better.

Free tool

What is that deadhead actually costing you?

Empty miles don't just cost fuel. They lower the real rate per mile on the load you're driving to, and that's the number that decides whether the load was worth taking.

The load

Load pays ($)

Loaded miles

Deadhead miles to pickup

Your cost per mile ($)

Compare with an alternative

Other load pays ($)

Its loaded miles

Its deadhead miles

Runs in your browser. Nothing is sent or stored. Don't know your cost per mile? Work it out first.

Load A vs Load B

A — advertised rate/mile—

A — true rate/mile with deadhead—

A — deadhead cost—

A — net profit—

B — true rate/mile—

B — net profit—

Better load— Compared on net profit after deadhead, not on advertised rate.

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Why the advertised rate lies

A $2,200 load over 800 miles advertises at $2.75 a mile. Add 150 deadhead miles to reach it and you actually drove 950 miles for $2,200 — $2.32 a mile. That 43-cent gap is where a lot of owner-operators quietly lose their year, one reasonable-looking load at a time.

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