Load Profit Calculator
Broker is offering a rate — should you take it? Enter the offer plus your deadhead and cost numbers to see real profit, margin and effective rate per mile.
By the HaulMath editorial team · Updated $1
Key numbers at a glance
| Market | Typical dry van rate | Net margin at $1.90/mi all-in cost |
|---|---|---|
| Strong | $2.50–$2.80/mi | 24–32% ($0.60–$0.90/mi) |
| Normal | $2.10–$2.50/mi | 10–24% ($0.20–$0.60/mi) |
| Weak | $1.80–$2.10/mi | −6% to +10% (a loss at the bottom of the band) |
Effective rate = revenue ÷ total miles (loaded + deadhead). Your own driver pay is not subtracted — treat the net profit as what covers you.
How it's calculated
Gross revenue = rate × loaded miles. Fuel cost = (loaded + deadhead) ÷ MPG × diesel price. Trip cost adds your fixed cost per mile and maintenance across all miles, plus the factoring fee on revenue. What's left is net profit.
A worked example
Offer: $2.50/mile on 850 loaded miles with 60 deadhead — $2,125 gross, $2.34 effective rate over 910 total miles. Fuel (910 ÷ 6.5 × $3.85) = $539. Fixed at $0.35 and maintenance at $0.28 across all miles = $573. Factoring 3% = $64. Net profit: $949, or $1.12 per loaded mile at a 45% margin — a genuinely good load. Drop the rate to $2.00 and profit collapses to $524, still positive; at $1.80 you're at $355 — and suddenly the load that ties up your truck for two days is paying you less than a highway laborer. The calculator makes that visible before you accept, not after.
Common mistakes
Ignoring the load's calendar cost. A 900-mile load with a two-day dock delay isn't a 900-mile load — it's your week. If detention isn't in the offer, the profit number here is optimistic.
Forgetting the backhaul. The trip's real profit includes what the return lane pays (or doesn't). Great outbound plus deadhead home is often worse than two mediocre loads both ways.
Chasing the biggest number. A $3.00/mile load into a dead zone with no freight out can lose to $2.30 into a hub. Lane, not rate, is the unit of truth.
Rate benchmarks: what good looks like
Spot market rates for dry van freight have swung between roughly $1.70 and $3.00 per mile over recent years: strong markets hand out $2.50–$2.80 on common lanes, weak ones grind to $1.80–$2.10, and regional quirks can push flatbed and reefer well above or below those bands. Against a typical all-in cost of $1.65–$2.10, the difference between a strong and weak market is literally the difference between profit and charity.
Three habits separate operators who survive the swings. They track their own average rate per mile — all miles, including deadhead — every week, so a soft market shows up as a number instead of a feeling. They watch load-to-truck ratios on their primary lanes rather than national headlines; a national average has never once paid a truck payment. And when rates drop below their break-even, they slow down deliberately: park the truck on cheap weeks instead of buying work with wear and depreciation. A parked truck costs money too, but at least it costs it honestly.
Use this calculator with this week's actual fuel price and your current cost numbers — a stale input set turns the tool into a random number generator.
Here's that spread as a reality check — the same truck at three market temperatures, costed at $1.90/mi all-in:
| Market | Typical dry van rate | Net margin at $1.90/mi all-in cost |
|---|---|---|
| Strong | $2.50–$2.80/mi | 24–32% ($0.60–$0.90/mi) |
| Normal | $2.10–$2.50/mi | 10–24% ($0.20–$0.60/mi) |
| Weak | $1.80–$2.10/mi | −6% to +10% (a loss at the bottom of the band) |
FAQ
What profit margin should I target per load?
After all costs, a healthy target is $0.60–$1.00+ per loaded mile, or a 30–45% net margin on revenue. Below that, you're mostly working for the truck.
Why does deadhead matter so much?
You burn fuel and wear the truck on unpaid miles. 60 deadhead miles on an 850-mile load quietly cuts your effective rate by ~7%.
How much deadhead is too much?
Keep deadhead under 10% of total miles as a rule of thumb. Past that, the unpaid legs are eating a visible slice of the rate — 150 deadhead miles on a 600-mile load is 20%, and a $2.50 offer becomes a $2.08 effective rate before costs.
Should I take a cheap load to avoid deadheading home?
Run the math, not the feeling. Compare the cheap load's profit against what the empty miles would cost you anyway — fuel plus maintenance, typically $0.85–$0.95/mile. If the load nets more than that deadhead bill, take it; if not, bobtail and keep your truck available for something better.
What is a good rate per mile for dry van?
On common dry van lanes, strong markets pay roughly $2.50–$2.80/mile and weak ones grind near $1.80–$2.10. Judge any offer against your own cost per mile — a "good" rate is one that clears your break-even with margin, not one that sounds big.