What is the average cost per mile to run a truck?

US industry benchmarks put all-in trucking costs at roughly $1.80–$2.30 per mile in recent years, with fuel and driver pay the two largest components. Your own number varies with truck payment, insurance market, fuel efficiency, and utilization — which is exactly why calculating it beats using the average.

How does this differ from a fuel surcharge calculation?

A fuel surcharge isolates one cost — the difference between current and baseline diesel prices — and passes it through to the shipper. Cost per mile is the complete operating picture: fixed costs, fuel, maintenance, and driver pay together. The surcharge protects you from fuel volatility; cost per mile tells you whether the base rate makes money at all.

Should empty (deadhead) miles be included?

Yes — use total monthly miles including empty repositioning, because the truck incurs fuel, maintenance, and often driver pay on every mile. When evaluating a specific load, divide the offered revenue by loaded plus deadhead miles for that move and compare against your cost per mile.

Logistics

Cost Per Mile Calculator

The Cost Per Mile Calculator computes what it costs to run a truck for one mile: fixed costs (truck payment, insurance, permits) spread over monthly miles, plus variable costs per mile (fuel from price and MPG, maintenance, driver pay) — giving the total cost per mile and the break-even freight rate a load must beat.

Input Parameters

Fixed costs (monthly)

Truck Payment ($)

Insurance ($)

Permits, Plates & Other Fixed ($)

Monthly Miles (loaded + empty)

Variable costs

Fuel Price ($/gal)

Truck MPG

Maintenance ($/mile)

Driver Pay ($/mile)

Results

Enter values to see results

Formula

Fixed $/mile = Monthly Fixed Costs ÷ Monthly Miles · Fuel $/mile = Fuel Price ÷ MPG · Total $/mile = Fixed + Fuel + Maintenance + Driver Pay

Fixed costs accrue whether the truck moves or not — the payment, insurance, permits, and parking are the same at 5,000 or 12,000 miles a month, which is why cost per mile falls as utilization rises. Variable costs scale with distance: fuel per mile is simply the price per gallon divided by the truck's miles per gallon. The total is the floor for rate decisions: any load paying less than your all-in cost per mile (including deadhead miles to reach it) loses money.

Variable Definitions

Fixed

Monthly Fixed Costs

Truck payment, insurance, permits/plates, parking, and other costs that don't vary with miles.

Miles

Monthly Miles

All miles run in a month, loaded and empty.

Fuel ÷ MPG

Fuel Cost per Mile

Diesel price per gallon divided by the truck's average MPG.

Maint

Maintenance per Mile

Tires, preventive maintenance, and repairs averaged per mile — commonly $0.15–0.25.

Driver

Driver Pay per Mile

Driver compensation per mile, or salary converted to a per-mile figure.

Example Calculation

Scenario: An owner-operator runs 10,000 miles/month: - Fixed: truck payment $2,400 + insurance $1,100 + permits/other $400 = $3,900 - Diesel $4.10/gal, truck averages 6.8 MPG - Maintenance $0.19/mile · Driver (own) pay $0.65/mile Calculation: Fixed per mile = $3,900 ÷ 10,000 = $0.390 Fuel per mile = $4.10 ÷ 6.8 = $0.603 Variable per mile = $0.603 + $0.19 + $0.65 = $1.443 Total cost per mile = $1.833 Break-even rate = $1.83/mile; at +15% margin, target ≥ $2.11/mile A load offered at $1.70/mile is $0.13/mile underwater before deadhead — decline or negotiate.

How to Interpret Your Result

• Know this number before negotiating — brokers do. Loads below your all-in cost per mile only make sense to reposition the truck strategically. • Remember deadhead: if a 500-mile load needs 100 empty miles, spread the revenue over 600 miles when comparing to your cost. • Fixed cost per mile is your utilization lever: the same truck at 8,000 vs 11,000 miles/month can differ by $0.15+/mile in fixed burden. • Recalculate when diesel moves — a $0.50/gal swing at 6.8 MPG changes your cost by about $0.07/mile.

Related Calculators

Related Glossary Terms

Full Truckload (FTL)Less Than Truckload (LTL)Fuel Surcharge Freight Rate