Assessment per round trip
An outbound leg that looks tight on its own can be the best decision within the round trip — and the other way round.
Return trips & backhauls
Manage return trips profitably and systematically
Return trips are a direct lever for utilization, empty-run rate, and results.
Context
Backhauls are a management issue
Return trips are often handled operationally, even though their impact on margin and network quality is strategically relevant.
Two formulas, two numbers
800 loaded and 200 empty kilometres give 20 per cent under the usual formula and 25 per cent under the honest one.
Detection by vehicle and time
Same trailer, continuous in time, closed on the return — not by the distance between two places.
Sequence · about 45 seconds
How two trips become a round trip — and why detection usually fails
The outbound leg is assigned and priced — as a single trip.
Runs automatically · can be paused at any time
Sourced figures
What can be publicly verified
Official figures as a reference point — your own value is in the calculator below.
21,6 %
of vehicle kilometres in EU road freight were empty runs in 2024 — calculated as empty ÷ total, the formula that plays the problem down.
Eurostat, road freight transport statistics 2024
around 75 %
of inland freight transport performance in the EU runs by road. That is where the lever sits — not in modal shift.
Eurostat, modal split (tonne-kilometres)
13 %
is the empty-run share in international traffic — half the national figure. Anyone running long-haul is measuring against the wrong value if they use the EU average.
Eurostat, road freight transport statistics 2024
In detail
Why return trips cost more than the metric shows
The usual formula flatters the problem
Empty divided by total has a catch: the more empty kilometres you add, the larger the denominator grows as well. The problem grows — the metric grows more slowly.
- 800 loaded, 200 empty kilometres. Calculated the classic way: 20 per cent.
- Same distance run, empty ÷ loaded: 25 per cent.
- Five percentage points that never surface in management — extrapolated to a fleet and a year, an amount nobody sees.
The second figure is the more uncomfortable one and therefore the better one. Both sit side by side in the calculator:
Why the return load is negotiated from the weaker position
Regular lanes, the telephone, the freight exchange — all three start from the single trip, after the outbound leg has already been awarded.
- The trailer is already at the unloading point. The alternative is running empty, and the market knows it.
- The result rests on individuals. If the dispatcher who carries the lanes in their head is away, the rate drops — without anyone being able to explain why.
The reasoning error in automation
Geographic detection fails on real trip data: in between, the trailer goes off to be washed, repaired or repositioned. Geographically a break, economically the same round trip.
What holds: same trailer, continuous in time, closed on the return to the country of origin. No geography.
What that changes
- Assessment per round trip rather than per trip: A tight outbound leg can be the best decision within the round trip.
- The price floor becomes negotiable: The achievable return load enters the calculation instead of being hoped for.
- Weak lanes become visible early: A structural lack of counter-traffic is a different problem from a seasonal dip.
- The knowledge stays in the business: It is not lost when someone leaves.
How to tell whether the effort is worthwhile
- The empty running rate is reported only as a total, not per lane.
- Which lanes carry the largest share is answered from memory, not from the system.
- The share of return loads varies noticeably with which dispatchers are present.
If any of these applies, the lever is not the next optimisation but visibility first.
Frequently asked questions
Return trips, empty running and round trips
How do you calculate the empty-run rate correctly?
Empty ÷ total is the common formula, empty ÷ loaded the more meaningful one — there the denominator does not grow with the problem. The first for reporting outwards, the second for your own management.
What is a good empty-run rate in road transport?
For 2024 Eurostat reports 21.6 % of vehicle kilometres (national 24–25 %, international 13 %). Realistic in international charter traffic are 12–18 %; well-dispatched round-trip fleets are at 8–12 %.
That is why the calculators here compare against 12 per cent and not against the official average: Measure yourself against the 21.6 per cent and you settle too early.
Is a return load below full cost worth it?
The alternative is running empty. Any return load that brings in more than the additional cost of carrying it is better. It becomes dangerous when the marginal case turns into the rule.
Why does our system not detect round trips?
Because it looks for them geographically. More reliable is looking at the same vehicle over a continuous period, closed on the return to the country of origin.
What does analysis per lane add?
The total says whether there is a problem; the analysis per lane says where it sits. The bulk of avoidable empty kilometres comes from a few lanes.
Direct Inquiry
Reduce empty-run rate?
A quick analysis of where the structural levers for backhauls lie in your network.