The industry average for empty miles sits around 15 to 20 percent. That means for every 1,000 miles some trucks drive, up to 200 of them earn nothing while still burning fuel, tires, and hours. Getting deadhead under 10 percent is one of the fastest raises an owner-operator can give themselves. Here is the playbook we run every day.
1. Book the next load before the current one delivers
Most deadhead is created in the hours after delivery, when a driver is sitting at a receiver with no plan. The fix is boring but powerful: the next load should be booked while you are still rolling toward the current delivery. That requires someone working the boards and the broker phones during driving hours, which is exactly what a dispatcher is for.
2. Think in triangles, not out-and-back
Out-and-back thinking creates empty return legs. Strong weeks are built as loops: three or four loads that hand off to each other and land you back in your home region. The Texas Triangle, the Southeast, and the Midwest all support tight loops where the next pickup is within 50 miles of the last drop.
3. Respect the freight map
Every cheap-rate area is cheap for a reason: more trucks than freight. Taking a hot-rate load into a dead zone is renting a nice week and buying a terrible one. Before accepting any load, the question is not just what it pays, but what comes out of where it lands. Sometimes the load that pays 15 cents less per mile into a strong market is the better week.
4. Price your deadhead into every decision
A load paying $2.60 with a 180-mile empty drive to the pickup is often worse than a $2.35 load 20 miles away. Do the blended math: total pay divided by total miles, loaded plus empty. Rate per loaded mile is vanity; rate per total mile is your actual business.
5. Build broker relationships on your lanes
Load boards are where strangers meet. Repeat freight is where margins live. When the same broker moves the same lane every week, the truck that delivered clean and on time gets the reload call before the load ever hits the board. Every load is an audition for the next one.
What good looks like
Run this playbook consistently and empty miles fall from the high teens to single digits. Our own target for dispatched trucks is under 8 percent. On 2,500 weekly miles, moving deadhead from 18 percent to 8 percent converts roughly 250 empty miles into paid ones. At $2.30 per mile, that is over $500 a week you were already driving for.
Tired of fighting the load board yourself? Milepost Dispatch books loads for dry van and reefer owner-operators, targets $2.30+ per loaded mile, and keeps empty miles under 8 percent. No contracts, no minimums, and the first 5 days are free. Call (332) 249-0201 or start your free trial at milepostdispatch.com.