Are You Leveraging Truck Routing Software for Maximum Load Utilization?

The trucking industry has never been more crucial to the US economy. With nearly 72% of all freight in America moving by truck, even small inefficiencies ripple across entire supply chains. ATRI report highlighted that the industry’s average cost of operating a truck was $2.260 per mile, marking a 0.4 percent decline from the previous year.

Every day, dispatchers and supply chain managers are under immense pressure to cut costs, improve efficiency and deliver on customer promises. It’s not just about meeting demand, but squeezing every ounce of value from every truck on the road. Maximum load utilization isn’t a buzzword. It’s the difference between thriving in a competitive market or falling behind.

But how do some of the world’s most agile supply chains achieve this? The answer is clear: modern truck routing software, powered by AI and machine learning, has transformed how businesses approach route planning, load allocation and real time decision making. 

Let’s look closer at what’s driving this shift and how you can harness it.

When a truck leaves the yard only half full, costs don’t drop by half they often double. You pay the same driver wages, fuel, insurance and maintenance, but move fewer goods per trip. Even a 10% improvement in load utilization can translate to millions in savings over a year for a mid sized fleet.

Yet, for most enterprises, the conventional approach to route planning and dispatch simply can’t keep up. Static routes, manual load assignments and reliance on dispatcher experience result in inefficiencies. Trucks run empty on backhauls, multiple vehicles cover similar areas and last minute changes throw entire plans into disarray.

Truck routing software solves these challenges by automatically analyzing orders, vehicles and real time data to optimize every mile, every load and every resource.

Truck routing software does far more than plotting addresses on a map. It brings together real time order volumes, fleet capacity, traffic, regulatory constraints and business priorities into a single, automated plan. The best truck routing software makes this process seamless by using AI algorithms that adjust in real time and continuously improve with each delivery cycle.

FarEye’s routing platform exemplifies this. It analyses thousands of potential scenarios, taking into account order details, delivery windows and live traffic. The result: more fully loaded vehicles, smarter allocation of stops and fewer miles driven per order.

1. Data Driven Route Optimization
   The days of best guess routing are over. The best truck routing software uses AI-based algorithms to crunch thousands of variables; order volume, delivery time windows, vehicle dimensions, traffic patterns and customer requirements within seconds.
   The best truck routing software ingest live order feeds, historical performance data and up-to-the-minute traffic updates. They then generate optimal routes that maximize truck fill rates, consolidate shipments heading the same way and cut unnecessary miles. This ensures each vehicle is loaded close to capacity, for both outbound and return trips.
2. Dynamic Load Pooling and Multi Stop Optimization
   Supply chains are rarely static. Orders change, priorities shift and disruptions are constant. Modern truck routing software dynamically pools shipments, combining orders from different customers in the same geographic region.
   FarEye’s solution excels at multi stop and multi drop routing, intelligently sequencing deliveries to reduce travel time and maximize loaded miles. For Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) operations, this means trucks carry multiple shipments on optimized routes, rather than running half empty or requiring extra vehicles.
   Benefit:
   By combining shipments across the network, you can increase delivery efficiency, maximise truck usage and reduce the cost per shipment.
3. Reducing Empty Backhauls
   Empty backhauls are a silent drain on logistics budgets. National data shows that up to 58% of long haul trucks run empty on return trips. The best truck routing software solves this by proactively identifying potential pickup loads on return routes.
   FarEye leverages AI and machine learning to match available capacity with new orders or returns, ensuring trucks are as full as possible on every leg of the journey. This not only saves fuel and cuts emissions, but also opens new revenue streams for asset light fleets.

4. Advanced Load Planning: Orders, Vehicles and Road Constraints
   True load optimization means more than just filling space. It’s about matching the right orders to the right trucks, factoring in weight, height, cargo type and customer delivery windows.
   FarEye’s truck routing solution automatically considers:

   • Order parameters: Weight, volume, stacking rules, time windows
   • Vehicle parameters: Capacity, compartmentalization, refrigerated or hazmat requirements
   • Road restrictions: Low bridges, tunnels, height and weight limits
   • Driver compliance: Hours of Service (HOS), mandated breaks, shift rotations

   By integrating these constraints, the software delivers routes that are safe, legal and make full use of available assets.

5. Real Time Visibility and Proactive Exception Management
   Visibility is non negotiable in modern logistics. The best truck routing software provides live location tracking and real time updates to both dispatchers and customers.
   FarEye enables dispatchers to monitor each truck’s status, predict arrival times and respond instantly to road closures, traffic jams or urgent changes. This reduces downtime, shortens delivery cycles and keeps trucks moving efficiently.
   Real time analytics also help identify issues such as underutilization on specific routes, allowing continuous improvement over time.
6. AI and Machine Learning: Smarter Decisions Every Day
   AI is the secret weapon behind today’s best truck routing software. FarEye uses machine learning to continuously analyze historical delivery data, seasonality and changing customer behavior. Over time, the system predicts demand spikes, suggests optimal fleet mixes (EVs, trucks, vans) and recommends shifts in route planning to maximize utilization.
   These insights help dispatchers make smarter decisions about which vehicles to deploy, how to sequence deliveries and when to consolidate shipments.

7. Compliance, Safety and Regulatory Management
   Efficiency is meaningless if it puts compliance at risk. Modern routing solutions automatically enforce Department of Transportation (DoT) regulations, including:

   • Driver working hour restrictions
   • Mandatory rest and break periods
   • Weight and road access rules

   With these built-in safeguards, dispatchers minimize legal risk and avoid costly fines, while still hitting tight delivery SLAs.

8. Seamless Integration with Your Tech Stack
   The value of truck routing software grows exponentially when integrated with your Transportation Management System (TMS), Warehouse Management System (WMS) and telematics. FarEye’s open architecture syncs live order data, vehicle availability and proof of delivery for a single source of truth.
   This end-to-end visibility makes it easier to spot underutilized assets, reallocate resources and improve collaboration across dispatch, warehouse and customer service teams.