What should this load actually pay?
Put in the miles, the broker’s offer and your costs. You get the rate to ask per loaded mile, what deadhead does to the offer, and where the money goes. Works in miles and US dollars, or kilometres and Canadian dollars.
Miles, gallons, US dollars, mpg. Opens on an example load: replace the numbers with yours.
Rate to ask
$2.82per loaded mile
- Trip total
- $1,108
- cost over 700 mi
- All-in rate
- $2.01 per mile
- loaded + deadhead
($1,108 trip cost + $300 profit) ÷ 500 mi loaded = $2.82 per loaded mile
Check the broker’s offer
$1,300 is $2.60 per loaded mile and $1.86 all-in. $192 left after costs.
Deadhead takes this offer from $2.60 to $1.86 per mile. You drive 700 mi to get paid for 500 mi.
Where the cost goes
- Fuel$0.94/mi · $660
- Maintenance, tires, tolls$0.25/mi · $175
- Driver pay$0.00/mi · $0
- Fixed costs$0.39/mi · $273
Estimates from the numbers you enter. They leave out taxes, factoring fees and detention.
How the rate to ask is worked out
The calculator adds up what the trip costs you and what you want to make on it, then divides by the loaded miles. It divides by loaded miles because that is how brokers quote.
Rate to ask = (trip cost + profit) ÷ loaded miles
Here is the example the calculator opens on. The load is 500 loaded miles plus 200 deadhead miles, so the truck drives 700. Say diesel costs $6.13 a gallon and the truck gets 6.5 miles per gallon: fuel is about $0.94 a mile. Maintenance, tires and tolls add $0.25 a mile. Fixed costs of $3,900 a month over 10,000 miles add $0.39 a mile. That is about $1.58 a mile, or $1,108 over 700 miles. Add the $300 you want to make and you need $1,408. Divided by the 500 loaded miles, that is $2.82 per loaded mile. Divided by all 700 miles, it is $2.01 an all-in mile.
Why deadhead belongs in the maths
The truck burns the same fuel and wears the same tires on the way to the pickup. If you leave those miles out, you ask for too little. Take a $1,300 offer on that 500-mile load. It looks like $2.60 per loaded mile. Count the 200 deadhead miles and it is $1.86 for every mile you drive. Compare that all-in number with your cost per mile, not the number on the rate confirmation.
Fixed costs and variable costs
Variable costs grow with every mile: fuel, maintenance, tires, tolls and driver pay. Fixed costs are due whether the truck moves or not: the truck payment, insurance, permits, ELD and parking. The calculator spreads fixed costs over the miles you run in a month. That is why the monthly mileage matters. The same $3,900 is $0.39 a mile at 10,000 miles a month and $0.65 a mile at 6,000.
Per loaded mile or all-in
Ask for the per-loaded-mile rate, because that is the number a broker can say yes or no to. Use the all-in rate to judge a load against your costs and against other loads, because it counts every mile the truck drives for it.
Estimates from the numbers you enter. They leave out taxes, factoring fees and detention.
Rate per mile questions
How do I calculate rate per mile for a load?
Add up what the trip costs you: fuel, maintenance and tires, tolls, driver pay and your share of fixed costs, each per mile, times every mile you drive including deadhead. Add the profit you want on the load. Divide that total by the loaded miles. The answer is the rate per loaded mile to ask for, which is how brokers quote.
Should I include deadhead miles?
Yes. Empty miles to the pickup cost fuel, wear and time just like loaded miles. This calculator puts them in the cost, then shows the rate two ways: per loaded mile, which is what the broker quotes, and all-in per mile across loaded and deadhead miles together, which is what the truck really earns.
What is a good rate per mile?
It depends on your costs, so there is no single number. A rate is good when it covers your cost per mile on every mile you drive for the load and leaves the profit you want. Enter your own numbers above and the calculator gives you the rate to ask.
Which costs should I include?
Variable costs that grow with each mile: fuel, maintenance, tires, tolls and driver pay. Fixed costs that are due whether the truck moves or not: truck payment, insurance, permits, ELD and parking. Fixed costs are spread over the miles you run in a month, so enter a monthly mileage you actually expect.
Where does the diesel price come from?
The US starting price is the national average from the EIA weekly survey, and the Canadian one is the national average published by NRCan. The date and source are shown under the diesel field. Neither is what you pay at the pump, so replace it with your own price.
Do the results include taxes, factoring fees or detention?
No. The results are estimates from the numbers you enter. They leave out taxes, factoring fees and detention.