Trucking Dispatch: Empty Miles and Margins

Reduce avoidable empty miles by evaluating the full trip, including repositioning, waiting, driver availability, and the next load, rather than accepting freight on loaded-mile revenue alone. Build dispatch decisions around contribution, service reliability, and safety. A lower empty-mile percentage is useful only when the overall route economics and operating obligations also improve.

Measure the whole movement consistently

Define empty miles as miles traveled without a revenue load and record the start and end points consistently. Track loaded miles, empty miles, waiting, accessorial revenue, and the relevant direct costs for each operating cycle. The empty-mile share is empty miles divided by total miles under the definition you have chosen. Confirm how your system treats yard movements and partial loads.

An attractive loaded-mile rate can hide a long repositioning leg. Compare routes over a complete cycle, including the likely next assignment, rather than selecting an arbitrary endpoint that makes one load look profitable. Record actual odometer or telematics data and reconcile it with dispatch records before comparing drivers, customers, or lanes.

Evaluate a load with constraints visible

Review fuel, driver compensation, tolls, load-specific charges, equipment requirements, pickup and delivery windows, and expected waiting. Separate costs that change with the trip from allocated fixed costs, then keep both views available for management. A contribution estimate can inform a dispatch decision, but it is not the same as the carrier's fully allocated net profit.

Dispatch must respect applicable hours of service and other safety requirements. Have qualified compliance personnel confirm the rules that apply to the driver and operation before accepting the assignment. Do not design a route that depends on a driver exceeding legal or safe limits, omitting necessary breaks, or meeting an unrealistic schedule.

Compare backhauls using total economics

Illustrative example: a trip includes 400 loaded miles and 100 empty miles. If total trip revenue is $1,500, revenue per total mile is $3.00, before costs. A proposed follow-on load may reduce empty repositioning but add waiting, a detour, or a missed higher-value commitment. Model those consequences before assuming every backhaul improves contribution.

Compare realistic alternatives using consistent assumptions. What happens if you return empty, accept the available load, wait for another option, or reposition to a different market? Include the confidence of the next assignment rather than presenting an uncertain load as guaranteed. A route that works only under optimistic pickup timing deserves a downside test.

Coordinate equipment maintenance and driver availability with the plan. Avoid treating unavailable trucks as capacity or assuming a specialist trailer can serve every load. Give dispatch a reliable view of equipment restrictions and the authority to escalate a proposed commitment that conflicts with safety, maintenance, or customer obligations.

Improve the planning loop with actual results

Review expected versus actual miles, waiting, receipts, and trip costs. Record why a route changed and whether a customer or facility repeatedly creates unpriced delay. Use the evidence in future quoting and scheduling. An accessorial charge should be evaluated under the relevant agreement and documentation requirements, not assumed collectible because it appears in a model.

Start with one lane or operating group and test a planning change. Track contribution per complete movement, service performance, safety concerns, and empty miles together. NIST self-assessment resources can support the wider operating review. The objective is a safer, commercially sound dispatch decision; reducing one ratio without checking the whole system can create a different and more expensive problem.

HPG describes its advisory work in operational performance, financial visibility, growth execution, and strategic advisory for founder led businesses. Discuss the specific scope and responsibilities before engaging support.

Sources: NIST Baldrige improvement tools, HPG advisory services.

Relevant HPG support

Common Questions

What is the empty-mile percentage formula?

Divide consistently defined empty miles by total miles for the same operating period or trip cycle, then multiply by 100.

Is every backhaul worth accepting?

No. Compare additional revenue with detours, waiting, operating costs, driver availability, and commitments displaced.

Can route optimization override hours of service?

No. Applicable safety and hours of service requirements constrain dispatch planning and must be verified for the operation.

Trucking and Dispatch Operations: Reducing Empty Miles and Improving Margins