Load Management

“If you have the right type of equipment in the right freight lane, you’re going to get good money every time.”

-Scott Woods, Transportation Training Group

You’re probably well aware of the fact that if your trucks aren’t running or are running empty, you aren’t making money, you’re losing it.

15-30% of all annual rolling miles are deadhead miles. You know that means lost revenue, driver time and fuel.  But, how much EXACTLY does that cost you each year?  Is it worth doing something about?  Let’s take a look at the numbers.

The average semi runs 45,000 miles per year.

If your company has only one truck running, and follows the national average for deadhead miles (15-30%), that equates to 6,750-13,500 deadhead miles each year.

The January 2023 average rate for dry vans was $2.42/mile. $2.42/mile multiplied by 6,750-13,500 annual deadhead miles comes out to $16,335-$32,670 per year.  That’s how much revenue you are losing each year to deadhead miles. 

If you have 10 trucks, add a zero to the end: Lost revenue goes up to $163,350-$326,700 per year.

That’s around a QUARTER MILLION DOLLARS that’s being left, on the side of the road each year.

This problem can be easily remedied with a good TMS.

But, that’s not the end of it. There are fuel costs as well as the cost of paying drivers to run empty loads.

An empty dry van gets around 10 mpg [8].

If we divide the average number of deadhead miles (6,750-13,500) by the average miles per gallon (10), we get 675-1350 gallons of diesel lost to deadhead miles.

And, diesel’s not cheap these days. As of January 29, 2023, diesel averaged $4.686/gallon [9]. 

When we multiple the number of gallons of deadhead diesel (675-1350) by the cost of diesel per gallon ($4.686), we get a total loss of $3,163.05 to $6,326.10 per year, for one truck.

Again, if you have a bigger company, with more than one truck, simply multiply that number by your number of trucks. So, if you have 10 trucks, you can expect annual fuel losses of $31,630.50 to $63,261!

Now, let’s look at driver compensation rates: The competitive rate for deadhead mileage compensation is 60-90 cents per mile [10].

If you are paying your drivers this rate, and running the national average deadhead miles ($0.60-0.90 x 6,750-13,500) with only one truck, you can expect to pay your drivers $4,050 to $12,150 per year just to run empty loads.

If you have 10 trucks, this amount goes up to $40,500 to $121,500 annually.

That’s the cost of 1-3 full-time salaried employees. Instead of paying those people to take work off your plate and make your business more profitable, you are paying someone to run empty loads. 

Let’s put all of this together to see the total annual loss due to deadhead miles.

For one truck: 

Revenue loss from empty load ($16,335-$32,670) + fuel ($3,163.05-6,326.10) + driver rate for empty load ($4,050-12,150) for empty load:

$23,548.05-$51,146.10 per year

Again, this is enough to pay one part- or full-time staff member to take work off your plate.

For 10 trucks:

Revenue loss from empty load ($163,350-$326,700) + fuel for empty load ($31,630.50-63,261) + driver rate for empty load ($40,500-121,500):

$235,480.50 to $511,461 per year

That’s nearly a quarter MILLION to ONE-HALF MILLION DOLLARS in losses EACH YEAR.

And, this is just your loss for running deadhead miles; it doesn’t include trucks that aren’t running AT ALL because of disorganization and lack of access to valuable aggregate data. Data, that if you had access to, would mean more efficient scheduling and more trucks on the road.

Imagine how much money you could save and how much money you could make if you switched to a unique platform like TMS Dash that provided access to valuable aggregate data, that served to not only reduce deadheading, but that kept more trucks on the road…

What could you do with that kind of money? With a HALF MILLION DOLLARS?  

How could that kind of money elevate your business and elevate your life?

Full Load Board Integration with Truckstop

Maybe deadhead miles aren’t an issue for you. Maybe the issue is that you don’t know what you have for equipment offhand when a broker or shipper calls and you’re losing loads.  The issue is the same: inefficiency.  And, the result is the same: revenue loss. 

With TMS Dash, you’ll know at a glance what you have available and who you have available, so you don’t lose a load.

Maybe you are using a TMS but it’s not your own. Or, maybe you’ve tried to DIY it with Google Sheets or another program.  The issue is that you want to diversify and scale but you can’t use your current carrier’s TMS with new carriers.  And, your DIY system isn’t enough to handle scaling your business past 5 trucks.  Plus, none of these eliminate the paper cluster f* you still have to manage.

TMS Dash provides a universal system to manage every aspect of your freight, whether you have one truck or 10,000. TMS Dash manages loads, assets, drivers, calendars, contacts, important documents, plus much more.  And, more importantly, it ensures that you never lose your data if something happens with a broker or carrier (and their TMS).

Maybe your main issue is minutiae (e.g., basic maintenance, renewals, registrations) that becomes major, when trucks are put out of service by the scale, fined, break down or get pulled over.

With TMS Dash: You can set reminders, maintain your trucks, track driver data and know at a glance who needs what and when (e.g., DOT medical cards, inspections, registrations, CDL renewals), so your trucks and drivers can stay on the road and keep your income rolling in.

References

1. Woods S. Freight lanes: How to understand them. Transportation Training Group [Internet]. May 7, 2019. Available from: https://youtu.be/AX9IdeQZEhA.

2. Express Freight Finance. Top 5 load boards for truckers in 2022 December 22, 2021. Available from: https://expressfreightfinance.com/top-5-load-boards-2022/.

3. The Economist. The appy trucker: Digital help is at hand for a fragmented and often inefficient industry May 3, 2016. Available from: https://www.economist.com/business/2016/03/03/the-appy-trucker.

4. Express Freight Finance. Cutting deadhead miles is easier than you think February 2, 2021. Available from: https://expressfreightfinance.com/reduce-your-deadhead-miles-overnight-and-win-back-your-time/.

5. Thorne S. What is the average lifespan of a long haul truck? Tri-state Truck Center [Internet]. January 19, 2022. Available from: https://www.tristatetruck.com/blog/posts/what-is-the-average-lifespan-of-a-long-haul-truck.

6. Thielen R. Five quick facts about semi-trucks. Commerce Express [Internet]. January 9, 2020. Available from: https://www.commerceexpressinc.com/2020/01/09/5-quick-facts-about-semi-trucks/.

7. DAT Freight & Analytics. Trendlines: National spot rates for dry van January 29, 2023. Available from: https://www.dat.com/trendlines.

8. Double Yellow. MPG of your truck full and empty? Truckers Report [Internet]. November 6, 2014. Available from: https://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/threads/mpg-of-your-truck-full-and-empty.266087/.

9. AAA. National Average Gas Prices: Diesel January 29, 2023. Available from: https://gasprices.aaa.com.

10. Motive. What are deadhead miles and how to avoid them October 27, 2022. Available from: https://gomotive.com/blog/deadhead-miles-how-to-avoid/.