You don’t need to be a freight analyst to know that profit in trucking is made—or lost—between the loads. It’s not just about what you haul. It’s about how you move between hauls. That’s where fuel gets wasted, hours get chewed up, and your driver’s clock gets burned with nothing to show for it. Bad load planning doesn’t just cost you time—it drains profit from every mile you run.
Inconsistent dispatching, poor planning, and ignoring data will put even the most experienced small fleet owners in the red. Let’s break down the top three load planning mistakes we see week after week—and more importantly, how to fix them before they cost you another week’s profit.
Mistake 1 — Planning Loads Without Looking at Empty Miles
Most carriers look at the rate per mile on the loaded leg and think they’re making money. They’re not. Because they didn’t calculate the all-in cost, which includes every single mile the truck moves.
Let’s look at a real example:
- Load A pays $3.00/mile from Charlotte to Atlanta (245 miles)
- Then you deadhead 100 miles to grab your next load
- That next load pays $2.10/mile going back to Charlotte
On paper, it looks good—because both loads pay decently. But when you calculate the empty miles and divide the total revenue by the total miles run (loaded + empty), your all-in RPM drops under $2.40.
That’s not enough when your fixed costs and variable costs, they are all rising.
Fix It:
- Use a load planning tool or a basic spreadsheet to calculate loaded miles, empty miles, and total revenue per trip
- Your goal is to keep deadhead under 12% of total miles—ideally under 10%
- Don’t chase rate-per-load—chase route efficiency
Pro Tip:
Use Google Maps in hybrid satellite mode to plan fuel stops, avoid traffic choke points, and identify safer rest areas near load origins. Wasted fuel often comes from poor routing—not just high prices.
Mistake 2 — Accepting Loads That Kill Your Clock
You can have the best rate on paper—but if it burns your clock with detention, tight appointment windows, or long check-in times, you’re losing money.
A carrier we worked with ran a load from Dallas to Kansas City for $3,100 on a tight timeline. Good rate. But:
- The pickup took 5 hours (2 of them unpaid)
- The driver sat at the receiver 6 hours waiting to unload
- That delay pushed back their next load pickup by 10 hours
That single scheduling failure blew the week’s rhythm. The carrier had to settle for a weaker reload, and they lost a $3/mile return trip to another carrier who got there first.
Fix It:
- Vet the facility on Dock411
- Look for Google reviews of shippers/receivers and call them if you’ve never been there
- Always ask the broker about dwell time and whether detention is guaranteed in writing
- Avoid first-come-first-serve docks that take longer than 2 hours unless detention pay is baked in
Pro Tip:
Avoid facilities that don’t respect your hours—it’s death by a thousand cuts.
Mistake 3 — Planning Loads Without a Weekly Net Profit Target
Too many carriers plan one load at a time instead of mapping out a weekly profit plan. That’s like trying to run a marathon one step at a time without knowing where the finish line is.
Let’s say you run two loads that both pay $2,000. Sounds good. But after factoring, fuel, tolls, and food, you’re left with $1,200 net.
But what if your weekly fixed expenses—insurance, truck payments, permits—are $1,000? You just ran all week and cleared $200.
This happens more than you think, especially when you’re not tracking all-in net.
Fix It:
- Start your week by writing your weekly net profit target (ex: “I need $1,500 NET after expenses this week.”)
- Reverse-engineer your load planning based on that number—not just RPM
- Track all fixed and variable expenses and build in a buffer
Pro Tip:
Use a rolling average of net profit per truck, not gross revenue. Gross looks pretty on Instagram—net keeps the lights on.
Real Talk From the Podcast – Why EF Routing Can Make You Rethink Load Planning
Smarter Loads, Stronger Margins – efRouting on Fixing the Routing Problem in Trucking
On The Playbook Long Haul podcast, we had a solid conversation with the folks over at EF Routing—and it really hit home just how much money small carriers are leaving on the table because of poor planning.
What stood out wasn’t just the tech, but the mindset shift. Instead of chasing the next decent-paying load, they talked about building your entire week around net profit, not just revenue. EF Routing helps break down routes based on deadhead, timing, and fuel—not just rate-per-mile. And when you hear how some carriers were able to tighten up their entire operation just by reworking how they plan from Monday through Friday, it clicks.
It wasn’t a sales pitch—it was a conversation about how to stop running in circles. If you’ve ever looked back at your week and wondered why you worked so hard for so little, that episode’s worth a listen. It’ll make you rethink how you plan your next move.
Bonus Mistake — Not Using Your Own Data to Plan Smarter
Many small carriers run loads and never look back. But the best carriers analyze their own patterns to plan better over time.
Are you tracking:
- Best lanes by RPM and net profit?
- Worst brokers by deadhead or wait times?
- Facilities that delay you or cost detention hours?
Fix It:
- Create a load planning log for every load: pickup, delivery, RPM, detention, broker name, facility score
- Review weekly to see what’s working
- Build a “preferred” and “avoid” list
Final Word
Load planning isn’t dispatching. It’s not just about finding freight—it’s about controlling cost, preserving time, and protecting margin. One bad load can cancel out the gains from three good ones. But when you plan based on efficiency—not just rate—you create consistency. And consistency is what keeps small fleets alive.
Start tracking your real miles. Vet your facilities. Protect your clock. And plan for net, not just revenue.
Because in this market, surviving isn’t about how many loads you haul. It’s about how many dollars you actually keep.
The post Three Load Planning Mistakes That Drain Fuel and Profit appeared first on FreightWaves.
