Deadhead
Miles a truck runs empty — typically repositioning from a delivery to the next pickup — burning fuel, driver hours, and equipment time while earning nothing.
How it works — and why it matters
Some deadhead is unavoidable: freight rarely delivers exactly where the next load originates. But every empty mile carries the full operating cost of a loaded one, so deadhead percentage is one of the most direct levers on a carrier's margin — and one of the metrics dispatchers and load planners optimize hardest.
Reducing deadhead is fundamentally an information problem: knowing where trucks will free up, when drivers will have hours, and what freight is available nearby. That is why digital freight matching and live TMS/telematics integration attack empty miles more effectively than any amount of load-board discipline alone.