Deadhead is the empty distance between loads. Some is unavoidable, but most of what pushes a carrier’s empty percentage into the mid-20s or higher comes from taking a headhaul without a plan for the return.
The highest-leverage habit is rebooking early. A dispatcher who searches for the next load while the driver is still 200 miles from delivery has options; one who waits until the truck is empty at the dock is negotiating from weakness and often has to reposition to find anything.
Lane selection matters as much as load selection. A strong headhaul rate into a region with little outbound freight can net out worse than a moderate rate into a balanced market where the backhaul is easy. Track which of your regular destinations reload well and weight them when accepting freight.
For repeating freight, arrange a standing backhaul with a broker or shipper so the return is covered before dispatch. Even a backhaul priced well below the headhaul improves the round trip, because the truck was going to make that drive regardless.
How to apply the answer
The answer changes when the operating facts change. Before applying it, identify the carrier's fleet size, equipment, authority model, lanes, customer requirements, and the records already available. A small owner-operator may make a different decision from a multi-truck carrier with dedicated freight, an accounting team, or a shipper routing guide. State those assumptions so another person can review the reasoning instead of treating a general answer as a promise.
Use the answer as a starting point for a repeatable workflow. Write down the inputs, compare the available options, and record the evidence behind the decision. For this question, the relevant terms include deadhead, backhaul, load-board. Linking the question to those definitions helps a dispatcher or owner move from a short answer to the operational detail that determines what happens next.
A useful next step is to test the decision against one real load, customer, driver, or settlement record, while keeping private information out of the example. Check what changed after the decision and update the process if the result did not match the assumption. This is especially important for compliance, tax, pricing, and cash-flow topics, where requirements and commercial terms can change.
If the decision affects more than one team, write down the handoff: who prepares the information, who reviews it, and where the final record lives. That small step turns a useful answer into a repeatable operating practice and makes it easier to find the next question when the workflow changes.
Trailflow's product pages describe supported workflows separately from this answer. Review the relevant product or workflow page for current availability, and verify regulated or financial decisions with the applicable primary source or qualified advisor.
Terms in this answer: Deadhead, Backhaul, Load Board
In Trailflow: dispatch.