Deadhead Miles

What is Deadhead Miles?

Deadhead miles are the miles a truck or delivery vehicle travels without carrying a paying load. Returning empty after a delivery, repositioning for the next pickup, or driving to a pickup location all count as deadhead miles.

Deadhead miles are a hidden cost that reduces effective revenue per mile. A driver who covers 3,000 miles weekly with 800 deadhead miles is only generating revenue on 73% of miles driven. The other 27% consumes fuel, driver hours, and maintenance without producing income.

For logistics companies, deadhead percentage directly affects per-mile economics and cash flow. High deadhead rates mean more cash spent on operations per dollar of revenue earned. Route planning that reduces deadhead improves margins without changing customer pricing. Track deadhead percentage weekly alongside fuel cost per loaded mile for a complete picture of route economics. Reducing deadhead through route optimization and backhaul matching improves margins without changing pricing. Variable costs like fuel make deadhead impact worse when prices rise.

Why it matters

Deadhead miles erode margins silently. A carrier reporting strong revenue per mile on loaded trips may have significantly lower effective revenue when deadhead is included. This affects cash flow because fuel and driver costs for deadhead miles are real cash outflows.

Formula

Deadhead Percentage = Deadhead Miles / Total Miles × 100

Example

How RunwayCal helps

Common mistakes

• 1Calculating revenue per mile on loaded miles only
• 2Not tracking deadhead percentage as a key operational metric
• 3Ignoring deadhead cost when pricing routes