Deadhead

Carriers count two kinds of miles: loaded and empty. Loaded miles are what the rate pays for. Empty miles are what the carrier has to drive to reach the next load, and on the spot market they run anywhere from a few percent to a quarter of all miles driven, depending on the lane and the season.

For a broker, deadhead explains most of what looks like irrational pricing. A load out of a market that trucks deliver into and leave empty (an inbound-heavy region like Florida or the Northeast) is cheap to cover because carriers will take almost anything to get back to freight. A load out of a market trucks leave full and enter empty is expensive because the carrier has to deadhead in to get it. The same 500 miles can differ by a third in rate between the two directions.

Load boards show deadhead explicitly: a carrier searching for loads sets a maximum deadhead radius from its current location, and a broker who posts a pickup 150 miles from any major market will see fewer bids and higher ones. Reducing deadhead is also the argument behind backhauls, drop trailers and dedicated lanes: anything that lets a truck stay loaded lowers the cost of every mile it drives.