General
deadhead
What does deadhead mean?
Hauling an empty trailer back to base or to the next pickup. Every deadhead mile burns fuel and time with no revenue against it, so drivers and dispatchers obsess over keeping the number low. A bad lane is one where you load out heavy and deadhead the whole way home.
"I had to deadhead 200 miles out of Reno to grab a load in Sacramento."
Origin
Older transport slang for any non-revenue trip; predates trucking and was used on railroads in the 1800s.
Frequently asked questions
What does deadhead mean in trucking?
It means running with an empty trailer, driving miles with no freight that you don't get paid for.
How do you use deadhead in a sentence?
"I had to deadhead 200 miles back to pick up the next load."
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