Trucking Cost Per Mile (CPM) Calculator
Your true cost to run one mile: fixed costs, variable costs and your own pay, per total mile and per loaded mile. Know this before you accept a rate.
The numbers filled in are a worked example. Replace them with yours.
Fixed costs (per month)
You pay these whether the truck runs or not.
Parking, phone, accounting, load board subscriptions.
Variable costs (per mile driven)
From the fuel cost calculator.
0 if you drive the truck yourself; your own pay goes below.
Your pay and your miles
What you need to take home for your labor. Shown on its own line so you can see CPM with and without it.
Loaded plus empty (deadhead).
Your cost per mile
A Texas Solutions dispatcher negotiates every rate and plans lanes around your cost per mile. Semi trucks 5%, hotshots 7%, box trucks 8% of weekly gross. You approve every load.
What does the Cost Per Mile (CPM) Calculator do?
Free trucking cost per mile calculator for owner-operators: fixed and variable costs, your own driver pay shown separately, and cost per total mile and per loaded mile.
How cost per mile is calculated
Split your costs into two groups. Fixed costs happen whether you drive 500 miles or 15,000 miles that month: your truck payment, insurance, permits and ELD subscription. Variable costs scale with miles driven: fuel, maintenance, tires and hired driver pay. Your own pay as an owner-driver is kept separate so it is never hidden inside another number.
- Fixed cost per mile = monthly fixed costs ÷ total miles
- Variable cost per mile = fuel + maintenance and tires + hired driver pay
- Operating CPM = fixed cost per mile + variable cost per mile
- Your pay per mile = your monthly pay ÷ total miles
- All-in cost per loaded mile = (operating CPM + your pay per mile) × total miles ÷ loaded miles
Units: dollars per month for fixed costs and your pay, dollars per mile for variable costs, miles per month for miles. Fixed cost per mile falls as you drive more miles in a month, since the same truck payment is spread over more miles. That is why a truck sitting idle costs more per mile than a truck running hard.
An owner-operator pays $1,800 a month for the truck, $600 insurance, $150 permits and ELD and $150 other fixed costs: $2,700 fixed. Fuel is $0.65 a mile and maintenance $0.18, with no hired driver: $0.83 variable. They run 10,000 total miles a month, 8,800 of them loaded, and want $4,000 a month for their own labor.
- Fixed per mile: $2,700 ÷ 10,000 = $0.27
- Operating CPM before own pay: $0.27 + $0.83 = $1.10
- Own pay per mile: $4,000 ÷ 10,000 = $0.40, so all-in $1.50 per mile
- All-in cost per loaded mile: $15,000 ÷ 8,800 = $1.70, with 12% deadhead
So this truck needs loads averaging at least about $1.70 per loaded mile to cover every cost and the owner's pay.
Frequently asked questions
What is cost per mile (CPM) in trucking?
Cost per mile is your total operating cost divided by miles driven: fixed costs (truck payment, insurance, permits) divided by monthly miles, plus variable costs (fuel, maintenance, driver pay) per mile. It is the number you compare against a load's rate per mile to see if it is worth running.
What is a good cost per mile for an owner-operator?
It depends heavily on the truck, lane and driver pay structure. Many owner-operators run somewhere between $1.50 and $2.00 all-in cost per mile. Use your own numbers in the calculator rather than a rule of thumb, since fuel, insurance and payment amounts vary widely.
Does cost per mile include driver pay?
It should if you want your true break-even rate. This calculator shows hired driver pay as a variable cost and your own pay as an owner-driver on its own line, so you can see your operating CPM before your pay and your all-in cost after it.
Should I divide by total miles or loaded miles?
Both numbers matter. Cost per total mile is what each mile driven costs, loaded or empty. Cost per loaded mile divides the same monthly cost by paid miles only, so it is the minimum average rate per loaded mile you need to cover costs and your pay.
Related calculators
Dispatch and factoring fees, deadhead and return miles, estimated profit and the rate you need.
How many miles a month you need to cover costs, and the rate that gets you there.
MPG, fuel cost per mile and diesel prices by state.
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