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Deadhead Cost Calculator

Enter the empty miles, fuel economy, fuel price, and per-mile cost to find the deadhead cost.

How it is calculated

The cost has a fuel part and a per-mile part. fuel cost = (empty miles / mpg) × fuel price per gallon, operating cost = empty miles × other cost per mile, and total = fuel cost + operating cost. The tool also shows total / empty miles as a cost per empty mile. Miles are US miles, fuel economy is miles per gallon and prices are in dollars. The per-mile field is for everything else you want to charge to the empty run (tyres, maintenance, driver pay); it must be filled in, so type 0 if you only want fuel. Miles can be zero, but mpg must be above zero. Tolls, insurance and the lost revenue of the missed load are not added unless you fold them into the per-mile figure.

Worked example

A truck runs 180 empty miles to the next pickup at 6.5 mpg, with diesel at $3.80 a gallon and $0.45 per mile for tyres, maintenance and driver pay. Gallons: 180 / 6.5 = 27.69. Fuel cost: 27.69 × 3.80 = $105.23. Operating cost: 180 × 0.45 = $81.00. Total: 105.23 + 81.00 = $186.23. That is about $1.03 for every empty mile. A load that pays less than this on top of its own costs would not cover the repositioning.

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Common mistakes

  • Entering the loaded-trip mpg: a truck's fuel economy changes with weight, so use the figure for the empty run if you know it, not the average from heavy loads.
  • Leaving the per-mile field empty when there are no extra costs; the tool needs a 0 there, otherwise it shows no result.
  • Counting driver pay twice, once in the per-mile figure and again as a separate hourly cost outside the tool.
  • Entering the fuel price per litre or the distance in kilometres; the tool is built for gallons and miles.
  • Comparing the total with the load's rate alone; the revenue lost on the empty miles is not in the number, and only the cost of making the empty run is.

About this calculator

In trucking, deadhead miles are the distance a truck drives empty — without a paying load — typically after dropping off a delivery and repositioning to pick up the next one. Unlike loaded miles, deadhead miles generate zero freight revenue but still cost fuel, driver time, wear on the truck, tolls, and insurance exposure, calculated as (empty miles ÷ fuel economy) × fuel price, plus any additional per-mile operating cost like maintenance and driver pay.

Owner-operators, fleet dispatchers, and freight brokers track deadhead cost closely because it's one of the biggest hidden drains on trucking profitability — a load that pays well can still be a net loss once the empty miles needed to reach it and return afterward are factored in, which is why minimizing deadhead percentage is a core dispatch optimization goal.

Price the empty leg before you say yes: enter the deadhead miles, your fuel economy, the fuel price and any per-mile running cost, and the total dollar cost of repositioning appears, so you can judge whether the load still pays.

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Comments (1)

  • Editorial team

    The total is only half the decision; spread it over the loaded trip. If 150 empty miles cost 177.12 here, divide that by the miles of the load you are driving to, and add the result to your per-mile rate to see what the load must pay. The per-mile field is for tyres, maintenance or driver pay. What do you fold into it?

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