How to know if a load is worth it

A load is worth it when it pays more than it costs to run, leaves the truck somewhere it can reload, and carries no risk the rate ignores. You can check all of that with five questions in about two minutes, in the same order every time.

This checklist is the evaluation half of the job. Once you have the five answers, Book, Pass, or Negotiate covers turning them into a decision. Here, the job is just to get honest answers.

1. What does it really pay per mile?

Divide the rate by every mile the load makes you run: loaded miles plus deadhead from wherever the truck sits now. A $2,100 load on 780 loaded miles looks like $2.69 a mile. Add 95 deadhead miles to reach the pickup and it pays $2.40 over 875 total miles.

That effective number is the only per-mile figure worth comparing. To see whether it is even in the neighborhood for the lane, check it against typical lane ranges, which are index-adjusted reference ranges rather than live quotes.

2. What does it cost you to run?

Your cost per mile is fuel, truck and trailer payments, insurance, maintenance, and permits, divided by the miles you actually run. ATRI's 2025 Operational Costs of Trucking update put the industry average at $2.26 per mile for 2024, but that is a reference point, not your number. ATRI's figure also includes driver wages and benefits, so add what you pay yourself to your own basket before comparing.

A one-truck operation with a paid-off tractor can sit well under that average, while a new truck note pushes the figure higher. If you have not worked out yours, the cost-per-mile tool builds it from your own numbers in a few minutes.

3. What is left over, and where does it leave you?

Multiply your cost per mile by total miles and subtract from the rate. At a $1.90 cost, the sample load costs $1,662.50 to run and leaves $437.50 gross. Dollars matter more than rate per mile here; a strong rate on a short run can still leave less than a modest rate on a long one.

Then look at the map. A decent margin followed by 250 empty miles to the next load burns about $475 at that same $1.90 cost, more than this load cleared. Delivering into a market with steady outbound freight is worth real money; delivering into a dead zone is a cost the posting never shows.

4. What could go wrong?

Scan for costs and delays the rate does not cover: receivers known for long docks, a lumper fee mentioned in the posting but missing from the rate confirmation, tarping on flatbed work, multi-stop routing, weekend delivery windows. A $150 lumper that comes out of your pocket cuts the sample load's margin from $437.50 to $287.50.

Vet the broker too. FMCSA requires every licensed broker to carry $75,000 in financial security, a BMC-84 surety bond or BMC-85 trust fund, and you can verify authority and bond status on FMCSA's website before hauling for someone new. Spotting broker red flags lists the warning signs. This is general education, not legal advice.

5. Does it clear your minimum acceptable rate?

Your minimum acceptable rate is the higher of two floors: your cost plus the profit you require, and your target rate per mile times total miles. Say you require $250 of profit on this run: cost plus profit comes to $1,662.50 + $250 = $1,912.50, while a $2.25 target puts the second floor at 875 × $2.25 = $1,968.75. The target floor is higher, so it governs, and the $2,100 offer clears it by $131.25.

Clears it with normal risk: book. Lands close: counter with a specific number and a reason. Sits far below, or carries risk money cannot fix: pass and move to the next posting. Five questions, two minutes, same order every time. The answers do not guarantee a good week, but they stop the bad loads that guessing lets through.

Two minutes by hand, or none at all: the free calculator walks a single load through the math, and LoadMerit Copilot runs the whole checklist against your saved cost profile on every offer you enter.