A loaded rate can be mathematically correct and economically misleading at the same time. The reason is deadhead.
Loaded RPM measures revenue against miles carrying freight. All-mile RPM measures the same revenue against every mile the truck must move to execute the decision. For an owner-operator evaluating a load, the second number is usually the more useful operating metric.
Loaded RPM vs. all-mile RPM
The formulas are simple:
Loaded RPM = Gross Load Revenue ÷ Loaded Miles
All-Mile RPM = Gross Load Revenue ÷ Total Trip Miles
Where total trip miles should include at least:
- Deadhead to pickup
- Loaded miles
- Known or expected repositioning after delivery when that repositioning is part of the decision
A real-world style example
Suppose a broker offers $2,600 for a load with 850 loaded miles. The pickup requires 90 miles of deadhead.
- Loaded RPM: $2,600 ÷ 850 = $3.06 per loaded mile
- Total trip miles: 850 + 90 = 940 miles
- All-mile RPM: $2,600 ÷ 940 = $2.77 per total mile
The advertised-looking number is $3.06. The truck is actually generating $2.77 for each mile it must move before considering any repositioning after delivery.
If the delivery market then requires another 160 empty miles to reach viable freight, the same $2,600 is spread across 1,100 total miles. All-mile RPM falls to about $2.36.
Deadhead is common enough to deserve its own metric
OOIDA’s 2024 owner-operator survey reported that respondents averaged 102,175 miles and that approximately 20% were deadhead miles. The survey characterized that as a negative trend associated with market conditions.
That percentage has a direct mathematical effect on revenue efficiency. If 20% of total miles are empty, only 80% are loaded. A truck earning $2.50 per loaded mile would therefore generate only about $2.00 per all mile if gross revenue is earned only on the loaded portion:
$2.50 × 80% = $2.00 all-mile RPM
This is why comparing loads on loaded RPM alone can reward the wrong load.
The cost of an empty mile is more than fuel
DAT Freight & Analytics notes that empty miles consume fuel without producing freight revenue and also expose the truck to wear and operating time. Its 2026 reload product update explicitly frames deadhead as a margin problem and encourages carriers to evaluate available freight near the delivery market before committing to the first leg.
For an owner-operator, an empty mile can carry:
- Fuel cost
- Maintenance reserve
- Tire wear
- Allocated fixed overhead
- Driver time
- Hours-of-service opportunity cost
- Potential tolls
- The opportunity cost of ending in a weak freight market
Why the highest loaded RPM is not always the best load
Consider two simplified offers:
| Metric | Load A | Load B |
|---|---|---|
| Gross | $2,600 | $2,400 |
| Loaded miles | 850 | 800 |
| Deadhead | 250 | 40 |
| Loaded RPM | $3.06 | $3.00 |
| Total miles | 1,100 | 840 |
| All-mile RPM | $2.36 | $2.86 |
Load A wins if you only look at loaded RPM. Load B is dramatically stronger on all-mile revenue efficiency.
That still does not automatically make Load B the better business decision. You should also consider delivery-market reload probability, appointment time, detention risk, tolls, broker terms, weather and whether the load supports your home-time or lane strategy. But all-mile RPM prevents deadhead from disappearing from the math.
Add operating cost to the comparison
Revenue per mile is only half of the decision. Compare it with your estimated cost per all mile.
If a truck’s operating cost is an illustrative $1.90 per total mile:
- At 940 miles, operating-cost exposure is about $1,786.
- At 1,100 miles, operating-cost exposure is about $2,090.
Those additional 160 empty miles add roughly $304 of cost exposure in this example without adding any revenue.
The actual number must come from your own carrier profile. Do not use $1.90 as an industry rule.
Deadhead before pickup and deadhead after delivery are different decisions
Deadhead to pickup is usually known before the load is booked and should be included directly in the load evaluation.
Post-delivery repositioning may be uncertain, but that uncertainty should not be treated as zero. Look at likely reload availability, historical lane behavior, your own dispatch experience and how far you may need to move before reaching a stronger market.
DAT’s June 2026 reload update is built around this exact idea: carriers benefit from seeing freight near the delivery destination before committing to the first load.
A practical load-evaluation checklist
- Record the gross offer.
- Enter loaded miles.
- Add deadhead to pickup.
- Estimate any likely repositioning after delivery.
- Calculate loaded RPM and all-mile RPM.
- Compare all-mile RPM with your truck’s operating CPM.
- Add tolls, lumper charges and percentage fees.
- Consider delivery-market reload probability and appointment risk.
- Compare the resulting profit per total mile with competing loads.
The metric to watch
Loaded RPM is useful for understanding what the freight itself pays. All-mile RPM is better for understanding what the truck earns while executing the decision.
Use both—but never let deadhead disappear from the denominator.
Sources and methodology
- OOIDA Foundation — 2024 Owner-Operator Member Profile Survey
- DAT Freight & Analytics — Every Empty Mile Costs You (June 2026)
- DAT Freight & Analytics — Reload visibility update (June 2026)
- OOIDA — Cost Per Mile guidance
Worked examples are illustrative. Actual load profitability depends on your carrier’s costs, equipment, route, market, business fees and operating conditions.