How to calculate rate per mile in trucking

To calculate rate per mile, divide the offered rate by the miles the load involves. Do it twice: once over loaded miles only (loaded RPM), and once over loaded plus deadhead miles (effective RPM). With the numbers off the rate con, the whole thing takes about a minute.

This walkthrough runs one example load start to finish: $1,850 all-in, 850 loaded miles, and 95 deadhead miles to reach the shipper. By the end you will have both RPM numbers and what the load clears over cost.

Step 1: pull three numbers

You need the all-in rate, the loaded miles, and the deadhead miles from where your truck sits right now. All-in means the full amount on the rate confirmation, fuel surcharge included; if a broker quotes a base rate plus a surcharge, add them together before you divide.

Pick one mileage source, your routing app or your ELD, and use it for every load. Posted miles are sometimes short miles, and a consistent source keeps your comparisons honest.

Step 2: divide for loaded RPM

Loaded RPM = rate ÷ loaded miles. For the example: $1,850 ÷ 850 = $2.18 per loaded mile, rounded from $2.176. Use this number to compare the load against other postings, because boards quote everything in loaded miles.

Step 3: add deadhead for effective RPM

Effective RPM = rate ÷ (loaded miles + deadhead miles). The example truck is 95 miles from the shipper, so the trip is really 945 miles: $1,850 ÷ 945 = $1.96 per mile.

That 22-cent drop is not a rounding detail; over 945 miles it is the gap between how the load was posted and what your odometer will record. If the two-number idea is new to you, loaded RPM vs. effective RPM covers why boards only show the first one.

Step 4: put your cost per mile next to it

An RPM number only becomes a decision when your cost per mile stands next to it. Fuel is the quickest piece: divide your diesel price by your truck's mpg. At the 2024 average on-highway diesel price of $3.76 a gallon (EIA data), a truck getting 6.5 mpg spends about 58 cents a mile on fuel alone.

Say your all-in cost, fuel included, is $1.80 a mile. The example trip runs 945 total miles, so it costs about $1,701 to execute, and the $1,850 rate leaves roughly $149.

A $2.18 headline that clears only $149 is exactly why this step matters. If you have never pinned down your own cost figure, the cost-per-mile tool builds it from your fixed and variable costs in a few minutes.

Step 5: book, counter, or pass

Compare effective RPM to your cost per mile plus the margin you want. Clearly above it: book. Close to it: counter, since even a $100 bump on the example load lifts effective RPM by about 11 cents. Below it: pass, unless the load repositions you into a market where the next load pays better.

The free calculator runs this whole sequence from the load's basic numbers — rate, miles, deadhead, and lane — and returns both RPM numbers plus a Book / Negotiate / Pass read. Once the arithmetic is automatic, the harder question is judgment, and what counts as a good rate per mile changes with your cost, your lane, and the season.