How to calculate your cost per mile

Why it matters

If you don't know your cost per mile, you can't tell a good load from a bad one. A load that sounds high can still lose money after deadhead, fuel and your time.

Step 1: Fixed costs per month

Things you pay even if the truck sits: truck and trailer payments, insurance, permits and plates, phone, ELD, load board, accounting. Add them up for one month.

Step 2: Running costs per mile

Things that grow with every mile: fuel (price per gallon ÷ your MPG), maintenance, tires and tolls. Put money aside for repairs every mile, even if nothing is broken today.

Step 3: Put it together

Cost per mile = (fixed costs per month ÷ miles per month) + running costs per mile.

Example (made-up numbers): $6,000 fixed a month ÷ 10,000 miles = $0.60. Fuel $4.00 ÷ 6.5 MPG = $0.62. Maintenance and tires $0.20. Total: about $1.42 per mile before you pay yourself. Count all miles, empty ones too.

Step 4: Pay yourself

Add what you want to earn per mile. That's your real minimum. Any load below it is you working for free.

We dispatch to your numbers

Tell us your cost per mile and we won't book below it. We look at the whole trip, including deadhead and the reload, not just the rate.

Quick answers

What is a normal cost per mile for a semi?
It depends on your truck payment, insurance and fuel. Many owner-operators land somewhere around $1.30–2.00 per mile including their own pay. Work out your own number.

Should I count deadhead miles?
Yes. Divide by all miles you drive, loaded and empty, or your cost will look lower than it really is.

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