Freight Rate Calculator
Calculate per-mile rate from fuel, insurance, maintenance, and driver costs.
About this calculator
Setting a freight rate that's actually profitable means adding up every cost the truck accrues per mile, then layering a margin on top — quote too low and every loaded mile loses money regardless of how much freight moves. This calculator splits costs into variable costs that scale directly with distance (fuel, insurance, maintenance, tires, and driver pay, each expressed per mile) and fixed costs that accrue per day the truck is on the road regardless of miles covered (truck payment, permits, parking), then spreads those fixed costs across the trip's estimated mileage to get a blended total cost per mile.
Fuel cost per mile is itself derived from price per gallon divided by the truck's loaded fuel economy, which is why a small change in diesel price or a drop in MPG from running loaded versus empty moves the bottom line more than it might seem — fuel is typically the single largest variable cost category for over-the-road trucking. The rate per mile shown is the minimum a carrier needs to charge to cover every one of these costs and still hit the target profit margin; quoting below it means the load is either subsidized by other freight or simply unprofitable.
InputsLoading live data…
Results
Rate per Mile
$2.08
Total Load Rate
$1,666.73
≈ 13 pairs of sneakers
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter the Trip Distance in miles and current Fuel Price ($/gal).
- Set Truck MPG (loaded), Insurance per Mile, Maintenance per Mile, and Tire Cost per Mile.
- Enter Driver Pay per Mile, Fixed Costs per Day, and Average Speed in mph.
- Set your target Profit Margin (%).
- Review the Rate per Mile needed to cover all costs and hit your margin, plus Total Load Revenue and Net Profit.
How the result changes with Truck MPG
| Truck MPG | Rate per Mile | Total Load Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | $2.85 | $2,280.07 |
| 4.5 | $2.34 | $1,871.18 |
| 9 | $1.83 | $1,462.29 |
| 10 | $1.78 | $1,421.40 |
What each input means
- Trip Distance
- One-way load distance in miles.
- Fuel Price
- Current diesel price per gallon.
- Truck MPG
- Average fuel economy for your truck (loaded).
- Insurance per Mile
- Insurance cost prorated per mile.
- Maintenance per Mile
- Average maintenance and repair cost per mile.
- Tire Cost per Mile
- Tire replacement cost prorated per mile.
- Driver Pay per Mile
- Driver compensation per mile.
- Fixed Costs per Day
- Daily fixed costs: truck payment, permits, parking, etc.
- Average Speed
- Average effective speed including traffic and stops.
- Profit Margin
- Desired profit margin above total costs.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters10 parametersTrip Distance = 800, Fuel Price = 4, Truck MPG = 6, Insurance per Mile = 0.06, Maintenance per Mile = 0.12, Tire Cost per Mile = 0.04, Driver Pay per Mile = 0.55, Fixed Costs per Day = 150, Average Speed = 50, Profit Margin = 15 = 10 input(s) provided
- Calculate Rate per MileRate per Mile2.083 = $2.083
- Calculate Total Load RateTotal Load Rate1666.73 = $1,666.73
- Calculate Total Cost/MileTotal Cost/Mile1.812 = $1.812
- Calculate Fuel Cost/MileFuel Cost/Mile0.667 = $0.667
Engine last updated . Checked against 1 independently-derived test — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are fixed costs and variable costs tracked separately?
Variable costs like fuel, tires, and driver pay scale directly with miles driven, so they're naturally expressed per mile. Fixed costs like truck payments and permits accrue per day regardless of how many miles get covered, so they have to be spread across the trip's estimated mileage separately — combining them from the start would hide how sensitive each category is to trip length versus daily duration.
Why does fuel economy (MPG) matter so much to the rate?
Fuel cost per mile is fuel price divided directly by MPG, so a truck getting 5 MPG instead of 6.5 MPG pays roughly 30% more per mile in fuel alone, all else being equal. Since fuel is typically the largest single variable cost category in trucking, small changes in loaded fuel economy move the bottom-line rate meaningfully more than most other individual cost inputs.
How is estimated trip length calculated?
The calculator divides trip distance by average speed to get driving hours, then divides by roughly 10 driving hours per day (a typical bound under hours-of-service rules) and rounds up to whole days. That day count is what fixed daily costs, like the truck payment and permits, get spread across to produce a fixed-cost-per-mile figure.
Does profit margin change the cost of running the truck?
No. Profit margin is applied on top of total cost per mile to set the rate charged for the load — it doesn't change fuel, insurance, maintenance, tire, driver, or fixed costs at all. Raising the margin increases the quoted rate and the resulting profit, but the underlying cost per mile the truck actually incurs stays exactly the same.
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