Rate per mile calculator: loaded RPM vs what the load really pays

By Edwin Horton · Updated October 2026

How the rate per mile calculator works

The same load can look like three different rates depending on what you divide by what. The calculator shows all three so you can stop comparing a broker's number to your own and getting surprised.

• Total = linehaul + fuel surcharge + accessorials on the rate con
• Linehaul RPM = linehaul ÷ loaded miles (what's often posted)
• Loaded RPM = total ÷ loaded miles
• All-in RPM = total ÷ (loaded miles + empty miles to pickup)
• Empty share = empty miles ÷ all miles

EXAMPLE A load pays $2,050 linehaul, $420 fuel surcharge and $75 for an extra stop on 920 loaded miles. The truck sits 110 miles from the pickup. Linehaul RPM: $2.23. Loaded RPM: $2.77. All-in RPM: $2.47. That last number is the one to compare with your cost per mile, because your truck burns fuel and time on all 1,030 miles.

Change the deadhead and watch the all-in bar move. A load 300 miles away with a strong linehaul can pay less than an average load across town.

Above the floor, near it, or under

All-in RPM above your floor: the load clears your costs and profit target. Next questions: where it delivers, what reloads are near, and whether the timing fits your driver's hours.

All-in RPM below your floor: it loses money unless something else makes up for it, like a strong reload or a trip home you were going to make anyway. Counter, or pass. The trucking cost per mile calculator gives you the floor to judge against, and the trip fuel cost calculator shows what the fuel on this run will cost.

High empty share: if more than about a fifth of your miles are empty week after week, your trucks are being positioned poorly. That's a planning problem more than a rate problem.

Where the numbers come from

Our fleet benchmark report collects published cost and rate benchmarks for small fleets, with sources and dates. Driver pay is one of the biggest per-mile costs; see the truck driver turnover rate guide for why underpaying it costs more than it saves. Running several trucks? Our small fleet dispatch desk puts each truck's all-in RPM on every offer you approve.

Keep a simple log of every offer you accept and pass on, with its all-in rate per mile. After a month you'll know what your lanes really pay, which makes counters easier and tells you which brokers are worth calling first.

If a broker's rate looks too good for the lane, check the deadhead, the appointment times and the broker before you celebrate. High all-in rates sometimes come with a long wait, a weekend delivery or a slow payer.

Read the rate con, not the post

• Read every line on the rate con, not the board post
• Measure deadhead from the truck's real location
• Leave out accessorials that aren't on the rate con
• Compare the all-in result with your cost per mile
• Note the broker and lane so you can compare next time