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RescueLoad

    Rate per mile calculator: the loaded number, the all-in number, and the gap

    Enter what the load pays and the miles it takes, including the deadhead to get there. You get the loaded rate per mile, the all-in rate across every mile you drive, and what to counter to hit your target.

    $
    $
    $
    mi
    mi
    $/mi

    From your cost per mile plus the profit you want

    Loaded rate per mile

    $3.00 per mile

    $2,100 over 700 paid miles

    All-in rate per mile

    $2.63 per mile

    Same money over 800 miles you drive

    Deadhead 100 mi (12.5%)Loaded 700 mi

    Linehaul alone: $2.57/mi loaded. To hit $2.75/mi all-in, this load needs $2,200: counter about $100 higher.

    Price my week

    Example week
    $
    Your tier

    Our fee (5%)

    $105

    You keep

    $1,995

    Fee on $2,100. $0 in lumper money passes straight to you.

    $2.63/mi all-in on this load. Our dispatchers counter on the all-in number, not just the loaded one, and you approve every load.

    Get loads that clear my rate

    Every load offer comes with a rate per mile, and that number is usually the flattering one. It divides the pay by the loaded miles, not by the miles you drive to get to the pickup. This rate per mile calculator shows both. Move the deadhead slider and watch the all-in odometer drop while the loaded one stays put: the gap between them is the cost of getting to the freight.

    How it is calculated

    • Revenue = linehaul + fuel surcharge + accessorials.
    • Linehaul rate per mile = linehaul ÷ loaded miles. Useful for comparing offers quoted without fuel.
    • Loaded rate per mile = revenue ÷ loaded miles. The number most offers are quoted in.
    • All-in rate per mile = revenue ÷ (loaded miles + deadhead miles). The number your costs run on.
    • Deadhead share = deadhead miles ÷ all miles.
    • Counter-offer = your target all-in rate × all miles - revenue. If it's positive, that's how much more the load needs.

    The FeeMeter under the results shows what a dispatch fee would be on that load at each tier, on linehaul and accessorial pay, never on pass-through money like lumpers.

    A worked example

    One load, two ratesExample

    1. PAYS$1,800 linehaul + $300 fuel = $2,100
    2. LOADED$2,100 ÷ 700 mi = $3.00/mi
    3. ALL-IN$2,100 ÷ 800 mi (100 deadhead) = $2.63/mi
    4. TARGET$2.75/mi × 800 mi = $2,200
    5. COUNTERAsk about $100 more

    These are the calculator's EXAMPLE defaults. Your target all-in rate should come from your own costs.

    How to read the result

    If the all-in rate clears your target, the load covers your miles at the margin you want. If it doesn't, the counter-offer line gives you a specific number to ask for, which is easier to defend than a vague request for more. If no realistic counter closes the gap, the deadhead is the problem: a load closer to where you are, or a better reload on the other end, may pay more for the day even at a lower posted rate.

    Where your target comes from

    Your target rate per mile comes from your own numbers: your cost per mile plus the profit you need. The market decides which offers you see; your costs decide which ones you take. Work out the cost with the trucking cost per mile calculator for tractors, or the box truck cost per mile calculator for a 26 ft box. Then set a target that covers those costs across all the miles you drive, loaded and empty, plus what the business has to earn.

    Market averages, used carefully

    Load boards and rate services publish average rates by equipment and lane, and some of that data is behind a subscription. Public sources exist too: the USDA publishes a weekly National Truck Rate Report for refrigerated produce lanes. Averages tell you where the market is. They don't tell you whether a load works for your truck, because your costs, your lanes and your deadhead are your own. For how shippers see the same rates from the other side, read freight shipping cost (coming soon).

    Source: USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, Specialty Crops Market News (FVWTRK), checked October 2026

    Rate per mile habits that pay

    • Quote yourself the all-in number. Before you call on a load, add the deadhead to the miles.
    • Think in round trips. A great rate into a weak market can lose the next day to a long empty drive.
    • Keep the accessorials separate. Detention you may or may not collect shouldn't make a weak linehaul look good.
    • Track the load. Brokers who can see where you are through motor freight tracking tend to trust you with better freight.

    Want someone to run these numbers on every load and counter before you hear the offer? See why carriers hire a dispatcher. Our dispatchers counter on the all-in rate, and you approve every load. Send an application.

    Questions about this calculator

    How do you calculate rate per mile in trucking?
    Divide what the load pays by the miles. The loaded rate per mile divides the total by the loaded miles only. The all-in rate divides the same total by loaded plus deadhead miles, which is every mile you actually drive for that money. Brokers quote the loaded number; your costs run on the all-in one, so check both.
    What is the average rate per mile for truck drivers?
    It moves every week with the market, the equipment type, the lane and the season, so any single number goes stale fast. Load boards and rate services publish national and lane averages, and the USDA publishes weekly refrigerated truck rates for produce lanes. Use those as a reference, then judge each load against your own cost per mile.
    Should the fuel surcharge count in the rate per mile?
    Count it in the revenue, because it's money the load pays. Some brokers quote an all-in rate that already includes fuel; others quote linehaul plus a separate surcharge. The calculator keeps them apart so you can compare offers either way: it shows the linehaul-only rate as well as the loaded and all-in rates with fuel.
    How is a truck load rate calculator different from a cost per mile calculator?
    A rate calculator measures what a load pays per mile. A cost per mile calculator measures what each mile costs you to run: fuel, payment, insurance, maintenance and the rest. You need both: a load is worth taking when its all-in rate per mile is above your cost per mile with the profit you want on top.
    How much deadhead is too much?
    There's no fixed limit; it depends on the rate. Run the load through the calculator with the real deadhead and see whether the all-in rate still clears your target. A short haul with a long deadhead can pay less per mile you drive than a lower-rate load right next door, even when its loaded rate looks better.