How to Reduce Empty Miles in Freight Operations

n the freight industry, every mile matters, not just for costs but also for sustainability, efficiency, and profitability. Yet one of the most persistent inefficiencies in freight operations is empty miles. Empty miles, also known as deadhead miles, represent miles driven by vehicles without any freight onboard. These trips include one-way deliveries without a return load, imbalanced freight lanes where demand is higher in one direction, and inefficient load matching due to lack of visibility or communication among shippers and carriers.

In 2024 the U.S. trucking industry averaged 16.7% empty miles, according to ATRI’s Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking report. These non-revenue miles waste fuel, labor, and time, and significantly increase carbon emissions. Every empty trip depreciates equipment and consumes driver hours without generating revenue. Implementing the right tools and strategies can help companies lower empty miles, improve resource utilization, and increase revenue potential.

Here’s a look at how fleets can reduce empty miles, conserve fuel, and operate more efficiently.

Digital freight matching platforms help carriers connect available capacity with nearby loads in real time. Modern systems analyze variables like location, vehicle type, delivery window, and driver availability to automatically suggest optimal matches. This not only reduces empty miles but also improves asset utilization. Businesses are increasingly developing new solutions to help logistics providers reduce empty miles and streamline operations.

Volvo Trucks North America recently launched Load Finder, a service designed to help carriers improve freight logistics operations by reducing empty miles, simplifying tasks, and increasing revenue. Load Finder helps carriers recapture lost revenue by aggregating data from over 40 load boards into a single platform and matching trucks with loads that fit best based on location, price, route, and driver availability. Volvo aims to help new carriers entering the freight market and established fleets maximize paid miles and enhance freight efficiency. 

Route and load optimization ensures that every vehicle travels the fewest possible miles while carrying the maximum feasible load. Route optimization tools allow companies to plan the most efficient delivery routes based on variables such as traffic conditions, delivery time-windows, vehicle type, and location. Load optimization focuses on maximizing the use of vehicle capacity. It determines which deliveries should be grouped together, in what order they should be picked up or dropped off, and how to match them with available vehicles to minimize empty miles. These processes ensure that trucks move fuller, smarter, and less often without freight.

Studies show that implementing AI-driven load optimization alongside intelligent routing can increase fleet efficiency by up to 35% while significantly reducing operational costs. Delivery management systems can automatically assign loads, optimize routes, and track vehicles in real time. Conditions on the road change constantly. Dynamic route optimization tools allow companies to adjust in real time, reassigning loads or rerouting drivers when there’s a cancellation, traffic jam, or new delivery opportunity nearby. Instead of assigning one load per truck, algorithms can consolidate multiple smaller shipments into a single delivery route. This significantly cuts down on partially empty trucks. 

Empty miles often occur because different players in the supply chain including shippers, carriers, and 3PLs operate in silos, each with limited visibility into the other’s operations. Without shared, real-time data on freight availability, vehicle location, and capacity, trucks frequently return empty after delivery simply because no one knew they were nearby and available for another load. By improving data sharing, companies can connect these dots, creating a more transparent, collaborative network that enables better load matching, smarter routing, and higher asset utilization.

When carriers and shippers share real-time tracking data, everyone gains a clearer picture of where trucks are, when they’ll finish deliveries, and where they’ll be empty next. This visibility allows shippers to assign return or nearby loads proactively. AI-driven predictive analytics tools can analyze vast amounts of data including historical delivery patterns, seasonal trends, and customer behaviors to forecast delivery demands with greater accuracy, enabling logistics providers to proactively anticipate freight flows and optimize resource allocation.

Empty miles are more than an operational nuisance, they drain profits, productivity, and sustainability goals. But with smarter route planning, better data visibility, and collaborative freight matching, fleets can turn empty space into opportunity.

For more information about how our delivery management solution can help you manage your delivery operations more efficiently, please contact info@bringoz.com.