Fill Empty Miles With the Right Match

Empty miles, also known as backhaul or deadhead miles, place a serious strain on for-hire fleet efficiency, accruing operational costs without a direct customer revenue offset. The American Transportation Research Institute's (ATRI's) Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking: 2026 Update reported that non-tank deadhead mileage improved slightly to 16.5% among for-hire carriers in 2025.

Empty miles are an even bigger challenge for private fleets. The National Private Truck Council's (NPTC's) 2026 Benchmarking Survey Report, which is sponsored by Penske, found that among fleets that track the metric, empty miles jumped to 31% of total mileage, a four-percentage-point increase over the previous year.

Private fleets often primarily move goods one way, such as from manufacturers to retailers, and rapid product movement often makes getting power units back more valuable than chasing a backhaul. NPTC has found that most private fleets are only looking for backhauls if they fit into their existing operations and don't affect their drivers. While 71% of respondents have for-hire operating authority, only a fraction said they actively solicit or haul backhaul freight, and when they do, internal company freight takes priority over outside freight in most cases.

Part of the challenge is that finding the right backhaul opportunity requires intense coordination because the timing must match at every step of the delivery process. Carriers need to find backhauls that fit within their schedule. They also have to find products that work within their trailers.

Complicating matters, finding the perfect match often involves many moving targets. Any disruption in the primary delivery, such as a traffic or weather delay, can alter the availability of a pickup and disrupt the scheduled backhaul. The backhaul also must move as planned without causing substantial out-of-route miles or delays.

While finding the right backhaul opportunity can be a challenge, it can be worth it, especially when capacity is tight or qualified drivers are hard to find. Filling empty miles maximizes asset use, increases revenue and improves sustainability.

Penske Logistics often utilizes dedicated fleets operated on behalf of customers for backhaul opportunities. With a centralized backhaul team, they match empty miles to a shipper’s needs and return some cash back to the dedicated customer for use of the vehicle. This improves vehicle utilization, reduces costs and provides a sustainability benefit.

Managing backhauls and matching freight requires timely communication and visibility, which is aided by Penske’s ClearChain® suite of technologies, including Supply Chain Insight. Real-time visibility gives Penske more time to find and book the right load. Then, once the backhaul load is locked in, this visibility provides constant insight into any availability changes. That allows Penske's team to react quickly, when necessary, correct the course, and minimize the chances of returning a load.

The Penske team monitors a detailed dashboard that outlines drivers' current estimated arrival times and actual times when working with backhauls. The technology streamlines the time-consuming and inefficient process of combing through a list of shippers and calling them to learn the direction in which freight is traveling.

The experts at Penske Logistics help customers improve utilization and reduce the costs of dedicated contract carriage, while helping shippers match loads using available capacity.