Freight Dispatching Terminology Practice Test

Loaded miles measure the distance a carrier travels while carrying cargo in the trailer. This metric directly captures miles in transit with cargo and is used to assess asset utilization and revenue-generating movement, as well as to calculate cost and efficiency on loaded shipments.

Deadhead miles refer to empty miles traveled without cargo, or to reposition for the next load, which isn’t about cargo in transit. Bobtailing describes driving a tractor without a trailer, again not carrying freight. Drops are the delivery events themselves, not a distance metric. So the miles traveled with cargo in transit are specifically tracked as loaded miles.