And don't use "backhaul" EVER.
Or, go buy your own tractor, buy all the permits, insurance, etc., and go backhaul to your hearts content.
I am not a big time expert, but I do hold a Class A license, and have driven 48 State.
I can hardly imagine local, short distance hauling of pallet loads, ever be in this mythical "oh, the trucker would just be deadheading anyway, so we can get him to do it for cheap" range.
Otherwise, a lot of truckers won't accept loads going to some locales, just because it is difficult to get a paying load outbound. They tire quickly of being despitefully used.
The freight brokers think they get to sit behind their desks and keep all the money. When they start asking, "where are you out of?", that's a sign. When they say "backhaul", hang up the phone!
It's far better to true deadhead/empty for hundreds of miles to pick up a good paying load, than to allow oneself to be taken advantage of.
Every once in awhile I’ll see a truck loaded with stacks and stacks of decent looking, but empty pallets heading away from the city back out to the country. Seems like a waste. I hope that they are the orchard’s own trucks and pallets, and they are just bringing them back to fill them up again.