Loadout
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Should I take this load?

A load profit calculator that counts your empty miles. Enter what the load pays and the miles, and see your real profit per mile, your break-even rate, and the rate to ask for. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

What do you drive?

Who pays you?

The load

Your costs

Enter what the load pays and the loaded miles to see the answer.

Tired of guessing your cost per mile?

In Loadout this calculator fills in your real fuel price, MPG and cost per mile from your own trips, fuel and expenses. Free while in beta.

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How the answer is worked out

  1. All miles = loaded miles + empty miles to the pickup + empty miles after delivery.
  2. Fuel = all miles ÷ your MPG × fuel price.
  3. Other running costs = all miles × your cost per mile, plus tolls, lumper and permits for this load.
  4. Profit = your pay − fuel − other costs. Divided by all miles, that is your real profit per mile.

"Good load" means it clears the profit per mile you set. "Thin" means it makes money but less than your target. "Pass" means you would lose money running it.

Common questions

How does deadhead change what a load pays?
Empty miles cost fuel and wear but earn nothing, so they pull your real rate down. A load paying $2.00 a mile for 375 loaded miles, with 375 empty miles home, pays $1.00 a mile on the miles you actually drive. This calculator always shows profit per mile on all miles, loaded and empty.
What is a break-even rate?
The load rate at which you make exactly $0: fuel for every mile, your other running costs for every mile, plus tolls and fees for the trip. Anything above it is profit. The calculator also shows the rate to ask for to reach the profit per mile you want.
How do I work out my cost per mile?
Add up a normal month of costs other than fuel (truck and trailer payment, insurance, tires, repairs, permits, phone, parking) and divide by the miles you drove that month, counting empty miles. Fuel is worked out separately from your fuel price and MPG. If you don't know yours yet, start with the number shown and adjust it.
What is a good profit per mile?
It depends on your costs and how many miles you run, so there is no single right number. Set the profit you want per mile, counting empty miles, and the calculator tells you whether a load clears it. The starting targets shown are only a place to begin.
I'm leased on and paid a percentage. How does that work here?
Choose "My carrier (leased on)" and enter your share of the rate. Your pay is that share of what the load pays, while your fuel and running costs stay the same, so the break-even load rate is higher than for a driver who keeps 100%.

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