Backhaul was more an issue with long haul(trans con) truckers, especially the owner operators. From what I heard (they were our competitors so I could only "hear") they had a pretty sophisticated network of brokers who would find backhaul loads, often at a reduced price (anything more than gas money was paying for their empty return and more). As soon as they were unloaded (and probably before) they would be on the phone to the brokers looking for that backhaul. The owner operators were incredibly efficient, but it was a highly competitive business so I'm not sure very many got rich. It was only after dereg was staring us in the face the the railroads started wising up and marketing backhaul rates.
JBWX