Truck Cost Per Mile Calculator

Add up everything it costs to run the truck in a month, then divide by the miles you drive in that month. Fixed costs such as the truck payment, insurance, and permits are divided by total monthly miles to get a fixed cost per mile. Variable costs such as fuel, maintenance, tires, and driver pay are already priced per mile, so you add them directly. Fixed cost per mile plus variable cost per mile is your total cost per mile.

Cost per mile spreads your total cost over every mile the truck drives, including empty miles. The break-even rate spreads the same total cost over loaded miles only, because loaded miles are the only ones that earn revenue. The break-even rate is always equal to or higher than the cost per mile, and the gap grows as your empty mileage grows. Quote freight against the break-even rate, not against the plain cost per mile.

Fixed costs stay roughly the same whether the truck moves 3,000 miles or 12,000 miles in a month. Typical examples are the truck or trailer payment, insurance, permits and licenses, ELD subscriptions, phone plans, and accounting fees. Variable costs rise and fall with each mile driven, such as diesel, oil changes, repairs, tires, tolls, scale fees, and per-mile driver pay. This calculator keeps the two groups separate so you can see which one is driving your total.

Enter your own target wage as a per-mile amount in the driver pay field. If you want to pay yourself the equivalent of 0.55 dollars for every mile, type 0.55 and the calculator treats it like any other running cost. Leaving the field at zero means the profit figure is what remains for you before you pay yourself, which is useful for tax planning but overstates how well the business is doing if you also need a wage from it.

Empty miles, often called deadhead, depend heavily on your lanes and freight type. Many carriers see somewhere between 10% and 20% of total miles run empty, and dedicated or backhaul-heavy operations can do better. Regional trucks that return to a home base each week tend to run more empty miles than trucks that stay on balanced lanes. Use your own logbook or dispatch records if you have them, since this input moves the break-even rate more than most people expect.

There is no single correct margin, because it depends on your debt, your risk tolerance, and how much you need to set aside for slow months, breakdowns, and equipment replacement. A common planning range is 10% to 20% of revenue above your full operating cost. The calculator divides your break-even rate by one minus your margin, which is margin on revenue rather than markup on cost. The two are different numbers, so check which one your broker or customer means.

It does not include income tax or self-employment tax, so the profit shown is before those taxes. Depreciation is not a separate line either, because the monthly truck payment acts as a practical stand-in for equipment cost. If you own the truck outright, consider adding a monthly amount for future replacement in the other fixed costs field. Fuel taxes are already inside the pump price, so there is no need to add them again.

Use the average price you actually pay per gallon after fuel-card discounts, not the sign price at the pump. For MPG, use a long-run average from your fuel receipts and odometer rather than the best tank you ever recorded. Loaded weight, speed, wind, and idle time all lower real-world mileage compared with a brochure figure. A slightly conservative MPG gives a safer cost per mile.