Trucking cost per mile calculator

How to calculate your trucking cost per mile

Your cost per mile is everything it takes to keep the truck moving, divided by the miles it moves. Split it into two parts, because they behave differently.

Fixed costs

Truck and trailer payments, insurance, permits, plates and your ELD subscription cost the same whether you drive 6,000 miles this month or 12,000. Divide the monthly total by your monthly miles:

fixed cost per mile = monthly fixed costs ÷ miles per month

The more miles you run, the less each mile carries. Sitting a week without a load raises your cost per mile for the whole month.

Running costs

Fuel, maintenance, tires and tolls go up and down with the miles you drive. Fuel is usually the biggest:

fuel cost per mile = diesel price ÷ miles per gallon

At $3.85 a gallon and 6.8 miles per gallon, fuel alone is about 57 cents a mile.

Pay yourself

If you drive your own truck, include a per-mile wage for yourself. Otherwise a load that only covers the truck's costs looks like profit when it's really your paycheck.

cost per mile = fixed per mile + fuel per mile + other running costs + your pay

Rate per loaded mile vs rate per total mile

Brokers quote the rate per loaded mile. Your truck burns fuel and time on every mile, including deadhead to the pickup. Divide the offer by all the miles to see what the load really pays:

rate per total mile = offer ÷ (loaded miles + deadhead miles)

A $2,400 load over 800 loaded miles is $3.00 a mile. Add 180 miles of deadhead and it's $2.45 a mile. If that number is below your cost per mile, the load loses money no matter how good the headline rate looks.

What is a good rate per mile?

There's no single number. A good rate is one above your own cost per mile on every mile you drive, with enough left over to cover the time the load ties up your truck. Two trucks on the same lane can have very different break-even rates. That's why the only rate worth comparing is yours.