How the calculation works
The calculator adds up what the load pays and subtracts what it costs to run it, mile by mile:
- Gross = linehaul + fuel surcharge + extra stop pay.
- Miles = loaded miles + deadhead miles to the pickup.
- Fuel = miles ÷ miles per gallon × diesel price. The price starts at the latest EIA U.S. on-highway diesel average.
- Other running costs = miles × your per-mile cost for repairs, tires and the share of insurance you assign to miles.
- Dispatch fee = gross × the fee percentage (0 if you dispatch yourself).
- Net profit = gross − fuel − tolls − other running costs − dispatch fee.
Then it divides three ways: net per mile across every mile, the true rate (gross ÷ all miles) next to the posted rate (gross ÷ loaded miles), and net per hour across the hours the load takes, including waiting.
Source: EIA, Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update · checked Oct 2026
A worked example
EXAMPLE
Made-up load. Diesel at the EIA average for the week shown on this site.
The posted rate looks like $3.26 a mile because the broker quotes it over loaded miles. Add the 95 empty miles to the pickup and the true rate is $2.90. The load still clears its running costs comfortably, and $1,097 goes toward the truck note, insurance and your pay.
What a good and a bad result look like
- Net per mile above your fixed cost per mile means the load covers its running costs and pays toward the fixed ones. Keep loads like this coming.
- Net per mile positive but below your fixed cost per mile keeps the wheels turning but doesn't pay the truck on its own. Fine as a repositioning move into a better market; not fine as a habit.
- Negative net means the load costs more to run than it pays. Counter, or decline.
Your fixed cost per mile is your monthly fixed costs divided by monthly miles; the break-even rate calculator works it out. Weigh per-hour profit too: a load that ties you up at a dock all day can earn less per hour than it looks per mile, and the idle cost calculator shows what the waiting itself burns.
From one load to the whole business
One profitable load doesn't make a profitable month. Track every load's net in a simple profit and loss statement for a trucking company, and compare the month against the industry figures in is a trucking business profitable. If you are weighing a dispatcher, the dispatch ROI calculator puts the fee next to the rate and hours it could buy back.
Our dispatch for owner-operators runs this check on every offer before it reaches you, and every load still comes to you for a yes or no. Send an application to see your fee tier.
Questions about this calculator
How do I calculate the profit on a truck load?
Add everything the load pays: linehaul, fuel surcharge and extra stop pay. Subtract fuel for every mile including deadhead, tolls, a per-mile share of running costs like repairs and tires, and any dispatch fee. What is left is the load's profit before fixed costs and your pay.
What is the true rate per mile on a load?
The load's total pay divided by loaded miles plus the empty miles to reach it. A $2,000 load over 800 loaded miles reads $2.50 a mile; with 200 empty miles to the pickup it is $2.00 a mile across every mile you drive. The true rate is the one your costs see.
Why does profit per hour matter on a load?
Because time is the limit you can't buy more of. A short load with a long wait at the dock can pay less per hour than a longer, slower-looking load. Comparing loads per hour, as well as per mile, shows which ones actually fill your week best.
Should fixed costs go into a single load's profit?
Not directly. Fixed costs such as the truck payment and insurance are paid whether this load moves or not, so this calculator leaves them out and shows the load's contribution toward them. Use the break-even rate calculator to make sure your loads cover fixed costs over a month.
Written by
Updated October 2026. Every rate and date on this page has its source and the date we checked it. How we research