Rate per mile calculator for trucking loads

How the calculator works

The math is simple, and the calculator shows every step:

• Total pay = linehaul + fuel surcharge + accessorials.
• Loaded rate = total pay ÷ loaded miles.
• All-miles rate = total pay ÷ (loaded miles + empty miles).
• Trip cost = all miles × your cost per mile.
• Left after costs = total pay − trip cost.

Money is rounded to the cent. The cost per mile is yours to enter; if you don't know it, work it out first with the trucking cost per mile calculator, because every judgment below depends on it.

Worked example EXAMPLE

A load pays $2,000 linehaul plus $300 fuel surcharge for 800 loaded miles. Getting to the pickup takes 200 empty miles. The total is $2,300. Per loaded mile that is $2.88, the number that looks good on the board. Per mile on all 1,000 miles it is $2.30. At a cost of $1.90 a mile, the trip costs $1,900 and leaves $400.

Change the empty miles to 450 and the all-miles rate drops to about $1.84, below the $1.90 cost: the same load now loses money. Nothing about the load changed except where your truck started. That is why we price every load on all its miles.

Loaded rate vs all-miles rate

Brokers and load boards quote rates per loaded mile, because that is what the shipper pays for. Your truck doesn't care which miles were paid: fuel, tires, maintenance and your hours all run on empty miles too. The all-miles rate is the one to compare with your cost per mile, and the gap between the two tells you how much deadhead is costing you.

A good habit: before you accept any load, ask what the next load will be. A trip that ends somewhere with plenty of freight going your way keeps the empty miles low on the next leg, and that matters as much as this load's rate.

What counts as accessorials

Accessorials are the extra lines on a rate confirmation: detention after the free time, layover, stop pay for extra drops, tarp pay, lumper reimbursement and truck order not used pay if a load cancels late. Only count the ones that are confirmed on the rate con. Detention you hope to get paid is not income until it is.

Using it as a trucking rates calculator for quotes

If you are quoting rather than checking an offer, run it backward: enter your miles and cost per mile, then raise the linehaul until the margin is what you need. That gives you a floor for the quote. Our counter offer calculator does the same with a target margin built in.

Why rates differ by equipment

A reefer carries the cost of a refrigeration unit and tighter appointments, a flatbed the work of securement and tarping, a car hauler the price of a specialized trailer and cargo coverage, and a heavy hauler the permits, escorts and slower travel. Those costs show up in what each kind of load pays, and in what each truck needs to earn per mile. Compare a load with other loads for the same equipment, and with your own costs, never with a different trailer's rates.

A note for shippers

If you are shipping freight rather than hauling it, this calculator shows how carriers judge your offer: on all the miles the truck has to drive, not just the loaded ones. A load that strands a truck far from more freight needs to pay for the trip back. We dispatch carriers and don't quote freight to shippers.

Average rate per mile for truck drivers

Market averages are published weekly by the large load boards and some market reports, by equipment type and region. They are useful for spotting whether a lane is hot or cold, but they mix every truck's costs together. Your own all-miles rate against your own cost per mile is the only number that tells you whether a load is worth taking.

When you dispatch with us, we do this math on every offer before you hear about it, and we only bring you loads that clear your floor on all miles. See our dispatch for owner-operators.