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Trucking Cost Per Mile Calculator

Enter fixed monthly cost, variable per-mile cost and miles per month to get the cost per mile.

How it is calculated

All-in cost per mile spreads the fixed monthly costs over the miles driven and adds the costs that grow with each mile: cost per mile = V + F ÷ M. V is the variable cost per mile (fuel, tyres, maintenance, tolls and similar), F is the fixed monthly cost (truck payment, insurance, permits, licences, driver salary if fixed) and M is the miles driven in the month. Miles must be above zero, and the two cost inputs cannot be negative. The result is shown as money with two decimals. Because fixed costs are divided by miles, running fewer miles raises the cost of every mile.

Worked example

An owner-operator has fixed costs of 4,500 per month, variable costs of 1.20 per mile and drives 9,000 miles. The fixed share per mile is 4,500 ÷ 9,000 = 0.50. Adding the variable cost of 1.20 gives $1.70 per mile. A load must pay at least this rate per mile to cover costs, before any profit.

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Common mistakes

  • Entering annual fixed costs in the monthly field, or yearly miles with monthly costs. All three must cover the same month.
  • Counting only loaded miles. Deadhead (empty) miles burn fuel and wear the truck, so use all miles driven.
  • Leaving out irregular costs such as tyres, repairs or licence renewals, which makes the variable figure too low.
  • Putting costs that are already per mile, like fuel, into the fixed field. They belong in the variable cost.
  • Using the best month's mileage. A slow month with fewer miles pushes the real cost per mile well above the estimate.

Sources

About this calculator

Cost per mile (CPM) is the core profitability metric in trucking, blending fixed costs that accrue regardless of mileage — insurance, truck payments, permits — with variable costs that scale with distance driven, like fuel, tires, and maintenance. The formula is (fixed monthly cost ÷ monthly miles) + variable cost per mile, and it's the same structure fleet-cost benchmarks published annually by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) are built on.

Owner-operators and small fleet managers rely on their all-in CPM to set a minimum freight rate they can't afford to haul below, and to compare their own efficiency against industry averages, which ATRI put at $2.26 per mile for 2024 and a record $2.34 for 2025 in the US ($1.85 without fuel).

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Comments (1)

  • Editorial team

    The fixed share per mile is what swings most, so test your own slow months. With 6,000 in fixed costs and 0.60 per mile variable, 10,000 miles costs 1,20 a mile, but the same costs over 8,000 miles come to 1,35. Compare that figure with your rate per loaded mile, and remember empty miles dilute it. Which costs do you put in the fixed bucket, and which in the variable one?

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