This is an open benchmark of full-truckload (FTL) freight —national distribution, plant or DC to market— in Central America and Colombia. It does not measure port drayage but the domestic flow, and it focuses on the line item no quote shows and no rate floor captures: the empty return (backhaul). The data is verified and you may cite it.
The question that defines an FTL's margin is not distance: it is whether the truck finds a load for the way back. When it does not, the return trip —fuel, driver hours, wear and the same tolls, now with no cargo to pay for them— is amortized into the outbound rate. We measure exactly how much it weighs.
The same trip, three rates: the empty return on Bogotá → MedellÃn
The Bogotá → MedellÃn corridor (509 km over the truck-legal route) is our production-verified FTL lane. It is the same truck, the same load and the same route across all three scenarios; the only thing that changes is the return assumption. Wear (maintenance and depreciation) scales with backhaul, and the empty-return toll is paid only when the truck comes back without cargo.
| Return scenario | Total cost (USD) | Cost/km (loaded) | Maintenance | Depreciation | Empty-return toll |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No return (truck comes back empty) | $855.42 | $1.68 | $71.60 | $56.10 | $112.36 |
| Partial return (50%) | $677.47 | $1.33 | $58.95 | $42.08 | $56.18 |
| Secured backhaul | $499.48 | $0.98 | $46.29 | $28.05 | $0.00 |
What the data reveals
The empty return is the largest and most invisible line item in FTL. In a full-truckload move the cost does not end when the load arrives: if the carrier finds no return load, the empty repositioning is spread over the outbound haul. It is the biggest source of difference between two quotes for the same trip — and the lever that separates a profitable haul from one that bleeds margin.
Detention counts on both ends. Unlike port drayage, an FTL loads at the origin and unloads at the destination, so dead time is paid twice. The engine separates normal handling time (included in the linehaul) from detention beyond the free time, so you see what you are paying for dead hours.
The legal floor is not the real cost. Honduras has a reference rate floor; Colombia has SICE-TAC. Neither distinguishes the backhaul assumption or detention — the two variables that most move the real per-route cost. A legal minimum answers "what is the least," not "what does this trip cost."
Seven national-distribution corridors
One representative FTL corridor per country, with the real distance over the truck-legal route (ORS routing). Bogotá → MedellÃn carries verified figures; for the others, the exact cost —with your backhaul assumption— is calculated in the app.
| Corridor | Distance (heavy-truck route) | What sets the empty return |
|---|---|---|
| 🇨🇴 Colombia Bogotá → MedellÃn | 509 km ~9 h | Relatively balanced backhaul; verified 41.6% swing. |
| ðŸ‡ðŸ‡³ Honduras Tegucigalpa → San Pedro Sula | 249 km ~3.7 h | Imbalanced flow (manufacturing leaves the Sula valley); plus a regulated rate floor. |
| 🇵🇦 Panama Ciudad de Panamá → David | 444 km ~7.5 h | The country's longest haul: over 444 km an empty return is enormous; seasonal with ChiriquÃ's harvest. |
| 🇬🇹 Guatemala Ciudad de Guatemala → Quetzaltenango | 200 km ~3 h | Highlands (>1,500 m): mountain fuel burn weighs; seasonal agricultural backhaul. |
| 🇸🇻 El Salvador San Salvador → San Miguel | 137 km ~2.2 h | Dollarized economy, no currency risk; seasonal agricultural return. |
| 🇨🇷 Costa Rica San José → Liberia | 217 km ~3.7 h | Highly seasonal backhaul: Guanacaste's return load depends on tourism and harvest. |
| 🇳🇮 Nicaragua Managua → Estelà | 149 km ~2.6 h | No tolls: the empty return is defined by fuel, driver and wear. |
Methodology
- Unit: one full truckload (class-5 tractor-trailer) over a national-distribution corridor, round trip.
- Routing: distance and time over the truck-legal route (OpenRouteService driving-hgv), with tolls matched to the route's real geometry.
- Empty return (backhaul): three scenarios (no return / partial / secured). The scenario scales the empty leg —fuel, driver, re-paid tolls— and also the wear (maintenance and depreciation).
- Detention: on both ends (loading and unloading), separating included handling time from billable detention.
- Verification: Bogotá → MedellÃn is production-verified (September 2026) against the market rate (COP 2.2–3.5M ≈ $722–$1,148/trip, Nextstop 2026); with backhaul, the cost sits below market.
How to cite this data
The numbers are public and meant to be used. If you are a journalist, association or analyst:
- Cite TruckingRates.org as the source and, where you can, link to this page.
- The strongest citable figure: the empty return moves more than a third (41.6%) of the same trip's rate on FTL Bogotá → MedellÃn.
- Need a specific corridor's figure or a breakdown for your country? Write to sales@truckingrates.org and we'll prepare it.
And your exact FTL route?
Calculate the real cost of your full-truckload corridor —with your backhaul, free-time and detention assumptions— and compare it against the quote on your table.
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