Loaded Miles Percentage

It shows how often your truck moves freight versus running empty — deadhead miles burn fuel without pay.

Formal definition

Loaded miles percentage equals revenue-generating miles divided by total miles driven, expressed as a percentage.

Why it matters

Owner-operators target 85%+ loaded miles; every empty mile is a direct hit to profit per mile.

Where you see it

• ELD/telematics reports
• Dispatch board reviews
• Freight broker negotiations
• Trucking business plans
• CDL entrepreneurship courses

Worked example

1. Revenue miles: 85,000.
2. Total miles: 100,000.
3. Loaded % = (85,000 ÷ 100,000) × 100 = 85%.
4. Interpretation: 85% of miles paid, 15% deadhead.

How Business metrics calculates it

Loaded miles ÷ Total miles × 100.

The range we use for status labels

On Business metrics, the status band for this KPI is roughly 85 to 100. Higher values are generally healthier in this band. Your niche can sit outside it honestly — the label is a prompt to read the coaching, not a certificate.

Where people fool themselves

Loaded % that ignores a 40-mile bobtail to the yard every Friday will look like a dispatch masterpiece. Hub miles include the unglamorous ones.

Run it on your own numbers: the Transportation calculator.