As owner/operators, there are some steps that can be taken to limit the number of miles you deadhead for a load
It never fails, there is almost always a deadhead from where you last emptied to where your next pick up will be. Sometimes it's only a few miles, sometimes it's several hundred.

As a general rule, if you're a company driver, deadhead miles aren't much of a problem for you, as you're probably paid for all miles that you are dispatched, including deadhead miles. But for the owner operator, or lease operator, running deadhead miles cuts into your pocket, deeply at times.

The cost of running deadhead miles is part of the cost of doing business with what ever trucking company your leased on to. Generally speaking, no company sets out to find a way to increase deadhead miles as it hurts their own ability to get a load covered. And, if the company is paying the cost of the deadhead, it bites into their bottom line too.

Deadhead miles vary from one load to the next. Overall, if you're running empty to pick up a load and it exceeds 20% of your paid loaded miles, you're probably taking a chunk out or your bottom line to pay for the deadhead. It's not unusual to be asked to deadhead from 5%-15% of your loaded miles for your next load, however, when it exceeds this you have to consider whether the expected pay for that load is enough to cover the cost of dead-heading and still be able to see a profit from the load.

As owner/operators, there are some steps that can be taken to limit the number of miles you deadhead for a load:

Make sure you're not leased on to a company which has forced dispatch. You want to maintain the right to accept or refuse any load offered to you.
When a load is being offered that has a lot of deadhead miles attached to it, calculate the percentage of deadhead miles that is needed versus the paid loaded miles. If it exceeds a certain percentage, say 15%, decline the load.
If the dispatcher tells you that the load being offered is all they have, and you've already determined it's not a reasonable number of deadhead miles, don't let the fear of sitting a bit longer cause you to reconsider accepting the load. My experience has shown that it is never the only load they have, or if it is, it won't be long before they are calling you back up with another load to offer you.

Another option, which I use now, is to determine how many miles you are willing to deadhead for any load and stick to that on every load offered. Keep in mind that not only are you not getting paid for those miles, you are spending money for fuel and other essential operating costs to run those miles. Additionally, you are using up what has now become a precious commodity, your available ELD hours.

Whatever method of selection you choose to use to limit your deadhead miles, discuss it with your dispatcher and/or fleet manager. It's always best to make them aware of your concerns and how you wish to remedy the situation. Remember, they are your bridge to success in this business. Keeping them in the loop goes a long ways to showing them respect, and in return, getting that respect back from them.

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