The short answer

A carrier prices the whole operating move, not only the loaded miles printed on your BOL. Empty repositioning miles can make one load more expensive than another with the same loaded distance.

What deadhead is

Deadhead includes miles driven without revenue freight before pickup, after delivery, or while repositioning.

ATRI's 2025 Operational Costs report said empty miles averaged 16.7% in its 2024 non-tank carrier data. That is an industry benchmark, not a rule for your carrier or lane.

Why the carrier prices it

Empty miles still use diesel, driver hours, tires, maintenance, tractor and trailer time, insurance and fixed equipment cost.

DAT's RateView fuel methodology also accounts for empty miles when normalizing fuel.

Do these first

A few shipment choices can make carrier repositioning easier.

  • Give some pickup flexibility — A nearby truck may become available later in the day.
  • Avoid unnecessary special equipment — A smaller carrier pool can mean longer repositioning.
  • Share repeat or return freight — A reload opportunity can change the total move.
  • Give complete delivery details — Unexpected dwell can destroy the next reload.

Sources

  • ATRI, July 2025: https://truckingresearch.org/2025/07/new-atri-report-shows-trucking-profitability-severly-squeezed-by-high-costs-low-rates/
  • DAT RateView fuel methodology: https://iq.support.dat.com/1-rateview-d8f11ff2/fuel-surcharge-calculation-in-rateview-81e5c885

Want to know why a lane is hard to cover?

Send the origin, destination, equipment and timing and I will look at the capacity and repositioning problem around the load.

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