🛣️ Practical Miles vs Household Miles: Which Miles Actually Get Paid?

Two recruiters offer the same cents per mile; one driver goes home with $250 more a week — same truck, same lanes, same odometer. The difference is a question most drivers never ask before signing: which miles are you counting? Below: household goods vs practical vs hub, ZIP-to-ZIP vs address, deadhead and out-of-route, and a worked week to put a real number on your own offer. 🚛

🧮 Why does "$0.80 per mile" mean nothing until you ask "which miles"?

Cents per mile (CPM) is the language of every trucking job ad, and it hides the biggest variable in plain sight. A mile on your dash is a fact; a "paid mile" is a definition, and the carrier writes it. Between pickup and delivery there are at least three distances: what a mileage table calls the shortest legal route between the two ZIP codes; what a routing program says a truck would realistically drive; and what your odometer actually turned, fuel stop and detours included.

Those three numbers can differ by 5, 10, even 15% on the same load; over 3,000-plus miles a week and 48 weeks a year, "which miles" is worth more than a two-cent raise. That is why our truck driver pay guide puts the mileage method ahead of the headline rate.

📏 What are HHG, practical and hub miles — and how far apart are they?

Three ways of counting, plus a modifier, as of September 2026:

Where the numbers come from — and how big the gap really is

HHG miles come from the household movers' tariff: the shortest route on paper, kept for driver pay because it produces the smallest number. PC*MILER by Trimble — the program most North American freight contracts name for billing and pay — offers Practical, Shortest and (newer) Fastest routing side by side. Same load, three answers. Carriers that publish the comparison put practical routing at roughly 5–8% more paid miles than HHG over a year; drivers report 5–12% depending on lanes, worst on short regional runs and metro-heavy trips. On a 3,300-mile week a 6% gap is about 200 miles — at $0.80 that is $160 a week, close to $7,500 a year, for exactly the same driving.

📍 ZIP-to-ZIP or address-to-address — does it matter?

Once a carrier chooses practical routing, the next question is what the software routes between: ZIP-code centers, or dock to dock. A published carrier example for a Minneapolis, MN to St. Louis, MO load shows the whole spread in one line: 542 miles by HHG, 565 by practical routing, 571 address-to-address. HHG-to-practical is a 23-mile jump; ZIP-to-address adds another 6.

The honest ranking: the method (HHG vs practical) moves your pay by percent; the endpoints (ZIP vs address) by a few miles a load. ZIP-to-ZIP on practical routing is fair and transparent, and it's what ASTEL runs: every load is measured in PC*MILER the same way, you can check it in any PC*MILER-based app, and nobody argues about which side of a 40-acre distribution center the dock was on. Address-to-address earns its keep on dense multi-stop grocery work in a metro; if that's your freight, ask the recruiter.

🔄 Are deadhead and empty miles paid — and what does "all miles paid" mean?

This is the second half of the question, often the bigger half: a "loaded miles only" plan pays nothing from the receiver to your next shipper. ATRI research puts empty miles at roughly 15–20% of all truck miles industry-wide; a well-run reefer fleet keeps deadhead far below that, but even 8–10% unpaid on a 3,300-mile week is 260–330 miles driven for free.

Deadhead (empty) miles

"All miles paid" should mean loaded and empty miles at the same rate, measured the same way. Read the fine print for two common exceptions — deadhead paid only above a threshold ("first 50 miles free") or at a lower rate — both of which blend the rate. At ASTEL, empty miles to the next pickup are PC*MILER miles like any other and pay the same $0.80, as their own line on the settlement.

Out-of-route miles

Out-of-route (OOR) is distance beyond the routed miles: a fuel stop three exits off the interstate, an unauthorized detour, the loop you made because the truck stop was full. No mileage system pays OOR by default — the carrier pays on the planned route, not on your choices. So keep OOR small: fuel where the fuel solution says, plan parking before the clock is down to 30 minutes, use a truck GPS — good trip planning is literally money. When extra miles are their call — a closure, a re-route, a shop visit — have dispatch add them to the load before you drive them.

The odometer gap: what's normal?

Even on practical, all-miles pay the odometer reads more than the settlement: fuel islands, weigh stations, parking, the driveway into the receiver. The gap is typically 2–5%. ASTEL treats up to about 5% over the PC*MILER miles as normal routing variance; a truck consistently past that is a conversation with dispatch about routing and fuel stops, not a deduction. On HHG loaded-only with a 12–15% gap you are not driving badly — you are being paid badly.

💵 How do you calculate your real rate per odometer mile?

The only number that compares two offers fairly is gross line-haul pay divided by odometer miles. Here is a worked week — hypothetical but realistic numbers for a solo reefer driver in season.

The week: four loads, Chicago → Dallas → Atlanta → back toward Chicago, with repositioning between them; the odometer turns 3,420 miles from Monday morning to the last delivery.

• PC*MILER practical miles: 2,980 loaded + 320 deadhead = 3,300 (odometer gap 3.5%).
• The same loads by HHG, about 6% shorter: 2,800 loaded + 300 deadhead = 3,100.

Offer B advertises four cents more than Offer A and pays $288 less for the same week — close to $14,000 over a 48-week year. Offer C looks like a raise over A and is still about $100 a week behind. Nothing in the driving changed — only the definition of a mile.

Do it for your own offer in five steps

1. Take gross line-haul pay for a full pay week — mileage pay only, before bonuses, stop pay, detention and reimbursements.
2. Take odometer miles for the same week: ELD start and end readings, or the ECM total in your fleet app.
3. Divide. That is your real cents per odometer mile. Average three or four weeks — one long deadhead or a shop day skews a single week.
4. Compare with the advertised rate. A 2–5% gap is routing variance; 8–15% is HHG, unpaid deadhead or a sliding scale — go back to the pay plan and find which.
5. Compare offers on the real number only. If a recruiter can't name the mileage method, assume HHG loaded-only and price accordingly.

⚖️ Why does a flat rate beat a sliding scale?

A sliding scale pays a higher CPM on short loads and a lower CPM on long ones, because a 150-mile load eats as much of your day as a 500-mile one. True — but look where the tiers sit: something like a dollar a mile under 200 miles, the mid-seventies from 200 to 500, the low seventies over 500. A real OTR week is three or four loads of 700–1,100 miles, so almost every mile lands in the bottom tier and the big number that got you on the phone applies to one short hop a week. A flat rate means the ad and the settlement say the same thing: $0.80 is $0.80 on the 180-mile shuttle and on the 1,100-mile run to Texas.

Two more places a big CPM quietly shrinks: "up to" rates — "up to $0.85" is a top tier reached after a year of tenure or in one division, so ask what a driver with your experience gets in week one; and miles you don't get — rate × miles is the whole equation, and reefer keeps the second factor healthy year-round (in ASTEL's August–March peak solo drivers typically run 3,500–3,700 miles a week). A great rate on 2,400 miles is a mediocre week.

Dock time is a separate topic — mileage pay never covers a five-hour live unload; that's what detention and layover pay is for. Don't let a recruiter answer a miles question with a detention answer.

🧾 How do you check which miles you were paid on the settlement?

The pay plan is a promise; the settlement is the receipt — give it ten minutes every week. Our guide to reading a trucking settlement covers the whole sheet; for miles, the routine is:

1. Match every load number to the loads you ran. A missing load is the most common and most expensive error.
2. Check the miles column. Run each load in a PC*MILER-based app with the same settings — practical, ZIP-to-ZIP — and compare. Small differences are version updates; 10% is the wrong method or a typo.
3. Find the deadhead line. Paid empty miles show as their own line or inside the next load. If neither, ask.
4. Note authorized extra miles. Approved re-routes, extra stops and shop runs should appear as miles or a flat add; the load notes in your dispatch app are your proof.
5. Compute the real rate per odometer mile and keep a running average — trend beats one week.
6. Dispute in writing, inside the window. Most carriers set a window of days; send load number, your miles and theirs to payroll in one message, copy dispatch.

Out-of-route miles also burn diesel the plan never counted; where a carrier pays a fuel-efficiency bonus — ASTEL adds up to $0.02 per mile — every unnecessary mile costs you twice: unpaid distance and MPG.

🚛 What does a fair miles policy look like in practice?

A fair plan fits on an index card:

• Practical routing in a named program (PC*MILER), so you can reproduce every number.
• ZIP-to-ZIP or address-to-address stated up front, the same for every load.
• Loaded and empty miles at the same rate from mile one.
• A flat rate that doesn't slide with length of haul or hide behind "up to".
• A stated odometer-variance tolerance, and a dispatcher who authorizes extra miles before you drive them.
• A settlement showing load number, miles and rate per line, every week.

That is ASTEL's plan as of September 2026: PC*MILER ZIP-to-ZIP, all miles paid — loaded and deadhead — at a flat $0.80 per mile for drivers with one or more years of experience, paid weekly, plus a Safety bonus of up to $0.02 per mile and $50/$200/$500 for clean DOT inspections. The full package is on the For Drivers page.

❓ Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between practical miles and household goods miles?

Household goods (HHG) miles are the shortest legal route between two ZIP codes from a mileage table, originally the household movers' tariff guide. Practical miles come from routing software such as PC*MILER and follow the roads a truck would realistically drive — interstates and bypasses — so they are longer and closer to what your odometer shows.

How much more do practical miles pay than HHG miles?

Typically about 5–8% more paid miles over a year of freight, and more than 10% on some regional or metro-heavy lanes. On a 3,300-mile week a 6% gap is roughly 200 miles, which at $0.80 per mile is about $160 a week or close to $7,500 a year for the same driving.

Are deadhead miles paid to truck drivers?

Only if the pay plan says so. "Loaded miles only" plans pay nothing for empty repositioning; "all miles paid" plans pay loaded and empty miles, ideally at the same rate from the first mile. Check for exceptions such as a free first 50 miles or a lower deadhead rate. ASTEL pays deadhead at the same flat rate as loaded miles.

What are hub miles?

Hub miles, also called actual miles, are the miles on the truck's odometer from pickup to delivery — the name comes from the hubodometer once mounted on an axle. They capture every mile you drive, including detours and fuel stops, but hub-mile pay is rare in OTR trucking and usually comes with a lower rate and close scrutiny of out-of-route miles.

How do I find out which miles my company pays?

Ask the recruiter five direct questions: practical or HHG, which program, ZIP-to-ZIP or address, whether empty miles are paid at the same rate, and whether the rate is flat or sliding. Then verify on your settlement: run each load in a PC*MILER-based app with the same settings, compare the miles column, and divide gross mileage pay by odometer miles to get your real rate.

Mileage definitions and the 5–8% practical-vs-HHG range reflect published carrier pay explanations (Roehl Transport), Truckstop.com and Trimble PC*MILER documentation as of September 2026; the Minneapolis–St. Louis example (542 / 565 / 571 miles) is from a published carrier comparison; the empty-miles share is from ATRI research. The weekly calculation uses hypothetical but realistic numbers. Carrier pay practices vary and may change; pay and mileage figures describe ASTEL driver ranges and policies, not guarantees. General information, not legal or financial advice.