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RescueLoad

    Load profitability calculator: what this load actually leaves you

    Enter what the load pays, the loaded and empty miles, fuel, tolls, wear, the days it takes and the hours you'll sit at docks. The waterfall walks the pay down to profit, and the results show true rate per mile and profit per hour.

    $
    $
    mi
    mi
    $/gal
    mpg
    $
    $/mi

    Maintenance and tires

    $

    Monthly fixed ÷ days you work

    days
    hr
    mph
    Dispatch fee

    This load leaves you

    $1,032

    Profit per hour
    $51.62/hr
    True rate per mile
    $2.50/mi
    Loaded rate per mile
    $2.67/mi
    Profit per mile
    $1.29/mi
    Margin
    51.6%

    20 hours door to door: 16 driving, 4 at docks.

    From pay to profit
    EXAMPLE load, use yours
    1. Revenue$2,000
    2. Fuel-$468
    3. Wear (maintenance, tires)-$160
    4. Fixed costs for the days-$320
    5. Tolls-$20
    6. Profit$1,032
    What the load pays

    Total $2,000

    $1,032 profit, $51.62 an hour. Our dispatchers run these numbers before an offer reaches you, and you approve every load.

    Get loads that pay per hour

    A rate can look strong on the board and leave very little once the truck has paid for itself. This load profitability calculator takes the pay from one load and subtracts what that load costs: fuel for every mile, wear on the truck, tolls, its share of your fixed costs for the days it takes, and a dispatch fee if you use one. The waterfall shows each cost leaving the pay, so you can see which one eats the most.

    How it is calculated

    • Revenue = what the load pays (linehaul and fuel surcharge) + any accessorial pay.
    • Fuel = (loaded miles + deadhead miles) ÷ mpg × fuel price.
    • Wear = all miles × your maintenance and tire cost per mile.
    • Fixed share = fixed costs per day × days the load takes.
    • Dispatch fee = revenue × the fee percentage, if you choose one.
    • Profit = revenue - fuel - wear - fixed share - tolls - fee.
    • True rate per mile = revenue ÷ all miles. Profit per hour = profit ÷ (driving hours + dock hours), where driving hours = all miles ÷ average speed.

    A worked example

    One 750-mile loadExample

    1. PAYS$2,000 for 750 loaded miles, 50 deadhead
    2. FUEL800 mi ÷ 6.5 mpg × $3.80 = $467.69
    3. COSTSWear $160 + fixed $320 (2 days) + tolls $20
    4. PROFIT$1,032.31, a 51.6% margin
    5. PER HOUR16 hr driving + 4 hr at docks = 20 hr, $51.62/hr

    These are the calculator's EXAMPLE numbers. Your fixed costs per day come from your own monthly bills divided by the days you work.

    How to read the result

    Start with profit per hour. If it's lower than you'd accept for a day of work, the rate is too low for the time, whatever the rate per mile says. Then look at the waterfall. A tall fuel bar on a load with a long deadhead says the empty miles are the problem. A tall fixed-cost bar says the load takes too many days for what it pays. If the profit goes negative, the calculator shows it in plain numbers: that load costs you money to haul.

    Hidden costs that change the answer

    • Dock time. Four hours waiting at a receiver is four hours of profit per hour you don't get back. If the rate con has detention terms, track the times.
    • Extra stops. Each stop adds time and often miles. The multi-stop load pay calculator prices them one by one.
    • DEF. Diesel exhaust fluid is a small cost per mile that adds up over a year. The DEF usage and cost calculator works it out.
    • The reload. A load that ends in a weak market can cost the next day too.

    After the profit: taxes and the business

    Profit on a load is before income tax. Setting aside a share of each week's profit keeps the quarterly payment from becoming a surprise; the quarterly estimated tax calculator helps you estimate it. For the bigger picture of where trucking money goes, read our freight cost analysis (coming soon), and for how shippers see the same rate, freight shipping cost (coming soon).

    Comparing two offers

    Run both loads through the calculator with their own miles, days and dock hours, then compare profit per hour and profit per day, not the posted rates. A shorter load that frees you for a second load the same week can beat a longer one that pays more on paper. The copy link saves each version, so you can open both side by side. Be honest about the dock hours and the days for each: those two inputs move the answer more than a few cents of rate, and they're the ones most often guessed too low.

    Want these numbers run on every offer before you hear about it? Our owner-operator dispatch desk checks profit per hour, not just rate per mile, and you approve every load. Send an application.

    Questions about this calculator

    How do I use a truck load profit calculator?
    Enter the pay from the rate con, the loaded miles and the deadhead to the pickup, your fuel price and economy, any tolls, a per-mile figure for maintenance and tires, your fixed costs per day and how many days the load takes. Add the hours you expect at the shipper and receiver. The result is what's left after the load's own costs.
    What is true rate per mile?
    True rate per mile divides what the load pays by every mile it takes, loaded and empty. The posted rate divides by loaded miles only, so it always looks better. True rate per mile is the one to compare with your cost per mile, because your truck spends money on the empty miles too.
    Why include fixed costs in one load's profit?
    Your payment, insurance and other fixed bills keep running while the load is under way. Charging each load its share, by the days it takes, shows whether it covers the truck or just the fuel. A load that covers fuel but not its days of fixed costs looks profitable and still drains the account.
    Why does profit per hour matter in a trucking load profit calculator?
    Two loads can pay the same and take very different time. Long dock waits, slow unloading and short runs with many stops eat hours that a per-mile view hides. Profit per hour, including dock time, lets you compare a quick short run with a long haul fairly, and tells you whether detention pay is worth chasing.
    Is the profit here what I'll pay tax on?
    Not exactly. This is profit on one load before income tax and before costs that don't fit a single load, like an annual registration or a big repair. Taxes depend on your total business income and deductions for the year. The quarterly estimated tax calculator helps you set money aside from the profit you're making.