Cost Per Mile Calculator
Calculate your total trucking cost per mile including fuel, insurance, truck payment, maintenance, permits, and other expenses.
Results
Visualization
How It Works
ATRI's 2024 Operational Costs of Trucking pegs the average marginal cost at $2.260 per mile — the industry benchmark every dispatcher and broker quietly uses to price freight. Driver wages plus benefits sit at $0.779/mi, fuel at $0.609/mi, truck and trailer payments at $0.317/mi, repair and maintenance at $0.202/mi, insurance at $0.106/mi, and permits/licenses around $0.063/mi. Owner-operators running paid-off trucks shave the equipment line but pay the same fuel, insurance, and maintenance. The honest math: take twelve months of bank statements, divide by total miles (loaded + deadhead + repositioning), and you have the only number that matters for booking loads above breakeven.
The Formula
Total Monthly Expenses = Fuel + Insurance + Truck Payment + Maintenance + Permits + Other
Variables
- Fuel — Diesel cost; ATRI 2024 average = $0.609/mi (largest variable line)
- Insurance — Liability + cargo + physical damage; ATRI = $0.106/mi
- Payment — Tractor + trailer P&I or lease; ATRI = $0.317/mi
- Maintenance — R&M, tires, fluids, parts; ATRI = $0.202/mi
- Permits — IRP, IFTA, UCR, HVUT, base plates; ATRI = $0.063/mi
- Miles — All miles run — loaded, empty, repositioning. Loaded-only inflates rate-per-mile and hides true cost.
Worked Example
Carlos runs a 2021 Cascadia financed at $118K over 60 months at 7.25% (P&I = $2,358/mo). Monthly: $5,400 fuel (8,800 gal at 6.2 MPG x $3.85), $1,150 insurance ($1M primary + $100K cargo + phys damage on $95K book value), $2,358 payment, $1,750 maintenance accrual ($0.18/mi x 9,700), $310 permits/IFTA prorated, $475 other (ELD, parking, factoring fees). Total = $11,443/mo. At 9,700 paid + deadhead miles, CPM = $1.179/mi before driver pay. Add Carlos's $0.65/mi target and his all-in number is $1.83/mi — meaning any load under $1.95/mi is a slow bleed.
Practical Tips
- Separate fuel from everything else. Fuel surcharges on contract freight reimburse fuel only — if you mix fuel into total CPM, you overestimate non-fuel cost recovery and underprice base linehaul.
- Use trailing-12 actuals, not annualized last month. Insurance hits in 6-month installments, IRP renews annually, tires drop in $4K chunks. A 90-day window misses these spikes and underprices loads by 8-12 cents/mi.
- Track all-miles, not paid-miles. ATRI shows deadhead averages 16-20% of total miles. A driver running 110K paid miles is actually rolling 130K+ — your CPM denominator must reflect that.
- Section 168(k) bonus depreciation drops to 60% in 2024, 40% in 2025, 20% in 2026, 0% in 2027 — accelerate equipment buys before the cliff or model the cash impact in your CPM truck-payment line.
- Build a $0.10/mi maintenance reserve into a separate account from day one. ATRI's $0.202/mi R&M figure includes a tire/major-repair smoothing assumption most carriers fail to fund.
- Quote rate-per-mile to brokers excluding FSC. If the FSC is $0.55/mi at $3.85 diesel, your $2.10/mi linehaul + FSC = $2.65 all-in — and you stay protected when fuel drops.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the ATRI 2024 cost per mile?
ATRI's 2024 Operational Costs of Trucking report puts marginal cost at $2.260 per mile, up from $2.270 in 2023 (the slight drop reflects fuel price softening). Driver wages were the largest line at $0.779/mi, followed by fuel ($0.609), truck/trailer payments ($0.317), and R&M ($0.202).
How do I separate driver pay from truck cost in CPM?
Build two CPMs: truck-only operating cost (fuel + payment + insurance + R&M + permits + tolls + tech) and all-in cost (truck-only + driver wages or owner-operator personal income). Quote loads against truck-only to know what covers the rig; use all-in to know what feeds your household.
Should I use loaded miles or all miles?
All miles. Your truck burns fuel and depreciates whether loaded, empty, or bobtail. Using paid-loaded miles only inflates your apparent revenue-per-mile and hides 16-20% of your real cost exposure (ATRI deadhead average).
What is a profitable rate per mile in 2024?
For a financed owner-operator at 110K mi/yr, breakeven all-in (including living wage of $65K-$80K) typically lands at $1.95-$2.20/mi. Profitable rates run $2.40-$2.85/mi linehaul + FSC. Reefer averages $0.15-$0.30/mi above dry van; flatbed varies wildly by market.
Should depreciation be on cash or book basis for budgeting?
For pricing, use cash basis — your actual P&I payment is what hits the account. For tax planning, book basis (Section 179 or 168(k) bonus depreciation) determines deduction timing. The two diverge sharply in years 1-2 of ownership and converge over the loan term.
What does ATRI include in marginal cost?
ATRI's marginal cost is per-mile operating expense excluding empty repositioning — it covers fuel, truck/trailer lease/purchase, R&M, fuel taxes, truck insurance, permits/licenses, tires, tolls, driver wages and benefits. It excludes overhead like dispatch, billing, and management G&A.
How often should I recalculate CPM?
Quarterly minimum, monthly is better for owner-operators. Diesel can swing $0.40/gal in 30 days, which moves your fuel-per-mile by $0.07-$0.10. Insurance and IRP renewals are step-changes that need immediate CPM recalc the month they hit.