Rate per mile calculator

How it's calculated

Accessorials only count if they're actually paid on this load. A lumper fee you're reimbursed for adds to gross but also to your costs, so it doesn't make the load better.

Worked example

The broker's number is $2.53. The number your truck lives on is $2.24, because those 120 empty miles cost fuel and time but pay nothing.

Good result vs bad result

Compare all-in RPM with your cost per mile. If all-in RPM is above your cost per mile, the load makes money; the gap is your profit per mile. If it's below, you're paying to haul it. Run your costs once in the trucking cost per mile calculator and keep the number handy.

Watch the deadhead share too. A long empty run to a high-paying load can still be the right call if the next load out of that area is strong. That's a planning question, and it's why we look at the whole week, not one load.

Loaded vs all-in, for every equipment type

The math is the same for a 26 ft box truck, a hotshot, a reefer or a step deck. What changes is the typical deadhead: final-mile box work and local dump work often have short empty runs between many small jobs, while flatbed and oversize loads can mean long repositioning. Dump trucks paid by the hour or ton don't fit RPM well at all; compare their pay per hour instead.

Before you take the load

Check four numbers: all-in RPM against your cost per mile, the deadhead share, what the next load out of the delivery area pays, and whether detention terms are on the rate con. If you want a counter-offer target, the counter-offer calculator works backward from the RPM you need.