The short version
The best time to find a backhaul is before you accept the load going out. The rate pays for loaded miles and your costs run on all of them, so a 15% empty ratio takes 15% off the top of every rate you quote. Check what is posted out of the delivery market before you say yes, set an alert on that area the moment you are dispatched, and work the return while you are still rolling.
A 500-mile run that leaves you 200 miles from the nearest outbound freight is not a 500-mile run. It is a 700-mile run at a lower rate than the one you agreed to.
What does deadhead actually cost?
Take a $1,400 load running 700 loaded miles. On its own that is $2.00 a mile. Add 120 empty miles to reach the shipper and 180 afterwards to reach the next load and you drove 1,000 miles for $1,400, which is $1.40. The freight did not change. The routing did.
| Loaded only | All miles |
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