Rate per mile calculator

How the calculator works

A load's pay usually comes in pieces, and the miles do too. The calculator adds the pieces and divides them three ways.

1. Total pay = linehaul + fuel surcharge + accessorials.
2. All-in rate per mile = total pay / (loaded miles + empty miles).
3. Loaded rate per mile = total pay / loaded miles. This is close to the number brokers quote.
4. Linehaul per loaded mile = linehaul alone / loaded miles, useful when you compare base rates between offers that pay fuel differently.

It also shows what share of your miles ran empty and how the pay splits between linehaul, fuel surcharge and extras.

A worked example

A dry van load pays $1,800 linehaul plus a $250 fuel surcharge and $75 for a second stop. It's 780 loaded miles, and the truck has to drive 90 empty miles to reach the shipper.

Total pay ($1,800 + $250 + $75)

$2,125

Total miles (780 + 90)

870

Loaded rate per mile

$2.72

Linehaul per loaded mile

$2.31

All-in rate per mile

$2.44

Empty miles are about 10% of the trip, and they pull the rate down by 28 cents a mile.

That gap is why the all-in rate matters. Two offers can quote the same loaded rate, but if one needs 40 empty miles and the other needs 300, they are very different loads.

Reading your result

A rate per mile only means something next to your cost per mile. If your truck costs $1.90 a mile to run, an all-in rate of $2.44 leaves 54 cents a mile for profit, before anything goes wrong. If your cost is $2.30, the same load barely pays. Work out your own cost with the trucking cost per mile calculator, then check whole loads, fuel and all, in the load profitability calculator.

Rates also change with the season, the region and the type of trailer. Reefer, flatbed and dry van rates move differently, and the same lane can pay very differently in a busy month and a quiet one. Don't compare your rate with a number you heard at the fuel island; compare it with your own costs and the other offers you have that day.

What changes your rate per mile

• Empty miles. The fastest way to lift your all-in rate is to cut the empty run to the next pickup. Plan the reload before you deliver.
• Short runs. Short loads often pay more per mile, because loading and unloading take the same time whatever the distance. The per-mile rate looks high, but the day may still be short on miles.
• Extra stops and waiting. Stop pay and detention add to the total, but they often don't cover the hours lost. Count the time, not just the dollars.
• Fuel surcharge. On loads that pay fuel separately, the surcharge moves with diesel prices. Check that it's on the rate con.

Rate per mile and driving time

Miles are only half of a trucker's day; hours are the other half. A load that pays well per mile but keeps you waiting at the dock for six hours may earn less per day than a cheaper load that rolls right away. Our guide to average miles driven by a truck driver per day explains what a realistic driving day covers under the hours rules.

If you're newer to the business side, our guide to the truck driver job explains how carriers, brokers and drivers each get paid.

Let someone else run the numbers

Our dispatchers do this math before they call: each offer you hear about already shows the all-in rate per mile, the deadhead and the stops, so you can say yes or no in seconds. That's the setup for owner-operators on our desk.