Load Profit Calculator for Truckers
This load profit calculator subtracts fuel, your other running costs, tolls and percentage fees from a load's pay, counting empty miles, to show net profit for the trip, profit per mile driven and profit per hour.
Figures and rules checked October 29, 2026
Before you say yes to a broker, enter the rate, the miles and your costs, and this calculator shows what the load leaves in your pocket: net profit for the trip, profit per mile driven and profit per hour of your time. It counts fuel, your other running costs, tolls and any percentage fees that come out of the gross.
Rate per mile tells you what a load pays. Profit tells you what it's worth. A load can post a strong rate and still lose money once the deadhead, a long wait and fees are counted.
Load profit calculator
The example is a made-up dry van load. Replace every number with your own.
This load leaves about $828 after costs and fees.
How to use the load profit calculator
| Box | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Rate | The total the broker pays, linehaul plus fuel surcharge, from the offer or rate confirmation. |
| Extra pay you're sure of | Stop-off pay or an agreed tarp fee. Leave detention out unless it's already earned. |
| Loaded and empty miles | Practical truck miles for the load, plus the drive from where you'll be empty to the shipper. |
| Total hours | From leaving empty to being empty again: driving, loading, unloading, fuel stops and the wait. Your ELD history on similar loads is the best guide. |
| Diesel price and mpg | What you'll really pay on this route and your real loaded mpg, from fuel card statements. |
| Other costs per mile | Everything except fuel: truck and trailer payments, insurance, maintenance, tires, permits, spread over your yearly miles. The cost per mile calculator gives you this as the total minus the fuel line. |
| Fees | Your dispatch and factoring percentages, taken on the gross. |
One choice matters more than any other: whether your own pay is in "other costs per mile". If you leave it out, as the example does, the profit is what the load pays you for your time. If you put it in, the profit is what's left for the business after you're paid. Either is fine. Just know which one you're looking at.
The formula
Revenue = rate + extra pay
Fuel = (loaded + empty miles) ÷ mpg × diesel price
Running costs = (loaded + empty miles) × other cost per mile + tolls
Fees = revenue × (dispatch % + factoring %)
Net profit = revenue − fuel − running costs − fees
Profit per mile divides net profit by all miles driven, empty ones included. Profit per hour divides it by the total hours. Fuel uses your real mpg, not a fuel surcharge schedule's mpg. For the bigger picture on what a mile costs a fleet, the American Transportation Research Institute's operational cost report breaks costs down line by line.
Worked examples
Three made-up loads for the same truck: $5.90 diesel, 6.6 mpg, 95 cents a mile in other costs and a 6% dispatch fee, no factoring.
| Long run (calculator example) | Short, fast load | Good rate, bad dock | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rate | $3,150 | $1,050 | $2,050 |
| Miles, loaded + empty | 1,050 + 85 | 280 + 20 | 520 + 160 |
| Hours, door to door | 22 | 7 | 24 |
| Net profit | $828 | $434 | $673 |
| Per mile driven | $0.73 | $1.45 | $0.99 |
| Per hour | $37.64 | $61.97 | $28.05 |
The short load earns the least in total but the most per hour, because it's done by lunch and leaves the afternoon for another load. The third load posts at $3.94 a loaded mile, the best rate of the three. It turns into the worst hourly pay once 160 empty miles and a 9-hour wait at the receiver are counted. That's the case for asking about dock times before you book.
How to read your result
| If you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| Negative profit | Counter-offer with the number that brings it to zero plus a margin, or pass. Use the empty miles as your reason |
| Good per mile, poor per hour | The time is the problem. Ask about loading times, appointment flexibility and detention terms |
| Good per hour, small total | Fine if you can stack another load the same day. Ask your dispatcher what reloads near the delivery |
| Fees over 10% of revenue | Check what you pay to dispatchers and factors with the dispatch fee calculator |
There's no single right profit per hour. Compare loads against each other and against your own weekly target. Our monthly rate report shows where national spot rates sit, so you know whether a low number is the load or the market.
Common mistakes
- Counting detention before it's paid. Leave it out. If it comes, it's a bonus.
- Leaving out the empty miles. They burn the same fuel as loaded ones. The rate per mile calculator shows how much they change a load.
- Guessing the hours. A load that "should take a day" can take two with a slow receiver. Use your history.
- Forgetting the trip home. If the load ends far from your next freight or your home, the empty miles out belong somewhere. Count them on this load or the next one, but count them once.
- Using last month's diesel price. Check the EIA weekly diesel price for the region you're running.
From one load to a good week
One profitable load isn't the goal. A profitable week is. The best load on paper can leave you stuck in a weak market, while a modest one can set up two good reloads. That's why dispatchers plan the next load before you deliver the current one. Our guide on how to cut deadhead miles explains how.
If you'd rather not run this math on every offer, that's the job your dispatcher does with us: checking rate, miles, dock time and reload before a load reaches you, for a flat 6% or 8% of weekly gross. See how our fee works or how we work with owner-operators. To practice the phone side, read how to negotiate freight rates.
Estimates for planning only. Taxes aren't included. Ask your accountant how profit is taxed for your business.
Load profit calculator questions
Should my own pay be in the load profit calculator?▾
Your choice, but be consistent. Leave it out of other costs per mile and the profit is what the load pays you. Put it in and the profit is what's left for the business.
What is a good profit per hour for an owner-operator?▾
There's no single number. Compare loads against each other and against the weekly income you need. A load with a lower total but a higher hourly profit can win if you can reload the same day.
Should I include detention in the load profit?▾
Only if it's already earned. Detention isn't promised until the broker approves it, so leave it out when deciding whether to book.
Why use my real mpg instead of the fuel surcharge mpg?▾
Because profit depends on what you actually burn. The surcharge schedule's mpg only decides what the broker pays for fuel.
Ready to get your truck loaded?
Talk to a dispatcher today. Your first 3 days are free, with no upfront dispatch fees.