Load profitability calculator: is this load worth it?

How the calculator works

The calculator follows one load from the empty drive to the pickup through to delivery.

1. Pay = the rate on the rate con + pay for each extra stop.
2. Fuel = (loaded miles + empty miles) / mpg x diesel price.
3. Other costs = all miles x your other costs per mile, plus tolls.
4. Net profit = pay - fuel - other costs - tolls.
5. True rate per mile = pay / all miles. Profit per mile = net profit / all miles.
6. Hours = all miles / average speed + hours at the docks + one hour for each extra stop. Profit per hour = net profit / hours.

The verdict light compares your profit per mile with the target you set. Red means the load loses money, amber means it makes money but less than you want, and green means it clears your target.

A worked example

A dry van load pays $2,100 for 820 loaded miles, with 110 empty miles to the shipper and one extra stop that pays $75. Diesel is $3.90 at 6.5 mpg, tolls are $40, and the carrier's other costs run 70 cents a mile. Expect about 4 hours at the docks.

Pay ($2,100 + $75 stop)

$2,175

Fuel (930 mi / 6.5 x $3.90)

-$558

Other costs (930 mi x $0.70) + tolls

-$691

True rate per mile

$2.34

Profit per hour (23.6 h)

$39.24

Net profit

$926

Profit per mile is about $1.00, which clears a 40-cent target.

What a good or bad result means

A green light means the load covers all your costs and leaves the margin you asked for. That's a strong yes, unless the delivery leaves you somewhere with no freight out.

An amber light is a judgment call. The load makes money but less than you want. It can still be the right choice if it moves you toward better freight, fills a gap before home time, or comes from a broker who sends steady work. If the timing is flexible, it's also a load worth a counter-offer. The counter-offer target rate calculator works out the number to ask for.

A red light means the load costs more to haul than it pays. Unless it's the only way out of a dead area, pass, or counter.

The traps the calculator catches

• Long empty runs. A rate that looks strong per loaded mile can fall apart once 150 empty miles are counted.
• Hidden time. Two stops, a slow shipper and an appointment window can turn a day's run into two. Profit per hour shows it.
• Fuel swings. When diesel moves, so does every load's profit. Update the price before you decide.
• No stop pay. Extra stops with no pay cost time and fuel. Ask for stop pay on the rate con.

New carriers tend to say yes to loads that look busy rather than profitable. Our list of rookie truck driver mistakes covers that and the other costly habits.

Comparing it with a paycheck

If you're weighing your own truck against a company job, the truck driver salary calculator shows what common pay models add up to in a year, so you can set your load profit against a steady paycheck.

Getting loads checked for you

Checking every offer by hand, while driving, is where good loads slip by and bad ones get booked. Offers from our desk arrive with the deadhead, stops, timing and per-mile math already done, so this calculator's job is done before your phone rings; the decision stays yours. Help finding freight explains the approach, and new carriers can read how fast a dispatcher can get your first load.