Deadhead Miles vs. Loaded Miles: Understanding the Difference

In trucking sector, every mile counts, but not all of them pay. Whether you are managing the long-hauls or handling the demand of last mile delivery, understanding how different types of miles effect your earning is important.   

 

You might come across these two most common terms: "deadhead miles and loaded miles". One puts money in your pocket, and the other quietly adds to your costs.  

 

If you want to increase your earnings and cut down on expenses, then it's important to understand how deadhead miles and loaded miles impact the trucking industry.    

 

Let's take a look at these terms in detail. 

 

What are Deadhead Miles?  

 

Deadhead miles, also known as "empty miles", refer to the miles that a truck travels without any load or cargo. This happens when a truck driver is returning from their destination after delivering the load or needs to travel to another location to pick up their load. Let's understand it better with an example,   

 

A truck goes from Point A to Point B to deliver the cargo and after unloading the cargo, it returns to Point A. The distance travelled from Point B to Point A, while the truck is empty, are considered deadhead miles.   

 

The distance travelled with the empty load means that the drivers have to run their trucks without getting paid. They also have to cover the cost of fuel, maintenance, and other operational costs without any profit.   

  

What are Loaded Miles? 

 

Loaded miles, also known as "revenue miles", refer to the distance that a truck travels while carrying the loads or cargo. This typically refers to the shipment of the loads from its origin to its final destination. Loaded mile is opposite from deadhead miles. These are the miles for which the trucker gets to earn their profit. Let's look at the example,   

 

A truck picks up its load from Point A and then delivers it to Point B. The miles that are travelled during the trip, while carrying the load is considered loaded miles. The truck drivers het paid to deliver loads from one location to another.   

 

Loaded miles are the livelihood of the trucking industry, and the drivers earn their income from the loaded miles.   

  

Key Difference Between Deadhead Miles vs. Loaded Miles  

 

Now that you know the basic meaning of these trucking terms, let's look at the difference between deadhead miles vs. loaded miles. This will help you understand better how deadhead miles affect truck drivers and their profits. Let's break it down: 

 

 

Criteria	Deadhead Miles	Loaded Miles
Definition	Miles travelled by the truck without any load or cargo.	Miles travelled by the truck while carrying the load.
Profit	No profit is generated	Main source of profit for the drivers and trucking companies
Operational Impact	Cover the fuel, maintenance costs, and other operational costs, without any revenue.	Efficiently use the resources and generate revenue for the companies
Efficiency	Low efficiency with low productive miles	High efficiency with productive miles
Driver Pay	May or may not be paid, depending on the contract	Paid per mile or as part of the load payment

 

How to Avoid Deadhead Miles? 

 

Deadhead miles are unavoidable in the trucking sector. Even though you can't avoid these miles, there are a few things that you can do to minimize it.  Let's check it out:  

 

• Use load boards to find available leads in the area so you don't have to travel empty.   
• Build strong connections with the shippers and 3PL services to secure loads and opportunities for backhauls.   
• Plan your routes carefully with technologies like Transportation Management Systems (TMS) and predict when and where loads will be available. 

  

Conclusion  

 

Both the terms are crucial in the trucking industry, and knowing the difference between the two will help you save money, time, and will increase your profits.   

Loaded miles helps in earn more revenue to the companies, while deadhead miles don’t. The main goal is to reduce deadhead miles and increase loaded miles.