Truck & Car Guides / Trucking life & careers
Rates per mile explained
How trucking rates are quoted, why loaded miles and all miles are different, and how carriers work out their own cost per mile. General education with simple math.
The basic idea
Trucking freight is usually priced as a rate per mile (RPM) or a flat rate for the whole load. A load from city A to city B that pays $2,000 for 800 miles works out to $2.50 per loaded mile. Rates move constantly with supply and demand, season, fuel prices, trailer type and the lanes involved, so this page avoids quoting "current" market numbers. Focus on the method instead.
Loaded miles vs all miles
- Loaded miles: miles with freight on board, the miles the rate is quoted on.
- Deadhead miles: empty miles driving to the pickup or home after delivery.
- All-in rate per mile: the total revenue divided by loaded miles plus deadhead miles.
Example: the same $2,000 load requires 150 empty miles to reach the pickup. The all-in rate is $2,000 / 950 miles, about $2.11 per mile. Deadhead quietly eats into revenue.
Linehaul and fuel surcharge
Many contract rates are split into:
- Linehaul: the base price for moving the freight.
- Fuel surcharge (FSC): an extra amount per mile that rises and falls with a published diesel price index, so carriers are protected when fuel spikes.
Spot rates on load boards are usually quoted "all-in," meaning fuel is included.
Accessorials
Extra charges, called accessorials, are paid for work beyond driving:
- Detention: waiting beyond the free time at a shipper or receiver.
- Layover: when a load cannot be delivered and the truck must wait a day.
- Stop-off pay: for extra pickups or deliveries.
- Tarp pay: for flatbed loads that must be tarped.
- Lumper fees: reimbursed when the receiver requires paid unloading.
- TONU (truck ordered, not used): when a load is canceled after the truck arrives.
These should be written into the rate confirmation.
Know your cost per mile
A rate only means something compared with your own cost per mile. Carriers add up:
| Cost type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Fixed costs | Truck and trailer payments, insurance, permits, plates, ELD and software subscriptions |
| Variable costs | Fuel, DEF, tires, maintenance, tolls |
| Driver pay | Wages or the owner's own salary |
| Overhead | Accounting, phone, factoring fees, office |
Divide the total by the total miles (loaded plus empty) over the same period. If costs for a month were $20,000 and the truck ran 10,000 total miles, the cost is $2.00 per mile. Any load whose all-in rate is below that loses money, even if it looks good on the board.
Fuel cost per mile
A quick check: divide the price of diesel by the truck's miles per gallon. At $4.00 per gallon and 6.5 mpg, fuel costs about $0.62 per mile. Long-haul tractors commonly get somewhere in the range of about 6 to 8 mpg, depending on load, terrain, speed and equipment.
How drivers are paid
Company drivers' pay is often expressed per mile too, but differently:
- Per mile: a set cents-per-mile rate, usually on practical or household-goods mileage, not exact GPS miles.
- Percentage of load: common for owner-operators and some specialized drivers.
- Hourly or salary: more common in local and regional work.
Rates, costs and pay vary widely. This is general education, not financial advice. Do your own math with real numbers before taking a job or a load.
Questions to ask about any load
- What is the all-in rate per mile including deadhead?
- Where does it leave the truck, and is there freight there?
- How long will loading and unloading take, and is detention paid?
- Will it fit within hours-of-service limits? See hours of service.
- Is the broker reliable and quick to pay? See freight and load boards.
