Free tool
Truck load profit calculator
Rates verified · By TruePermit · Free, no signup
A rate confirmation says what the load pays. It never says what the load leaves. Enter the lane, the truck and the rate: a truck-legal route splits the miles by state, official schedules price the fuel tax, weight-distance taxes and permits, this week's EIA diesel price and the tolls fill in the run, and your own driver, fixed and maintenance figures finish the cost. Out comes the net, the net per mile, the profit per hour, the break-even rate — and one call: accept, negotiate at a stated counter, or decline.
Every dollar has a basis
The card shows each cost line with the calculation behind it: miles ÷ MPG × price for fuel, miles × your rate for driver pay and allocations, the routing provider's estimate for tolls, and the trip cost estimate for taxes and permits — the same deterministic engines that compute the quarterly IFTA and weight-distance returns inside TruePermit. The decision is a comparison against the targets you set, never an opinion about the market.
Before you counter
The counter shown is the rate at which the load reaches your target net per mile over all miles, rounded up to the next $25. Try the deadhead miles you actually expect and the hours the shipper really takes at the dock; both move the number. If the government line surprises you, the trip cost calculator breaks it down by state.
Frequently asked questions
What costs does the load profit calculation include?
Six lines, each with its basis shown: fuel (route miles ÷ your MPG × this week's EIA regional diesel price), driver pay (per mile, per hour, or a percentage of the rate — your choice), a fixed-cost allocation per mile (insurance, truck payment, permits, overhead), a maintenance reserve per mile, tolls from the routing provider, and the government cost of the run — IFTA fuel tax, state weight-distance taxes and any per-trip permits — priced from official rate schedules by the same engines the TruePermit product files with.
Where does the diesel price come from?
The U.S. Energy Information Administration's weekly retail on-highway diesel survey, by region (the five PADDs, with California priced separately). The route's price is the miles-weighted mix of the regions it crosses, and the survey week is shown next to it. It is a planning price, not your pump price — if you have a fuel-card average, the figure you'd use is the same one your IFTA return credits back per gallon.
What do ACCEPT, NEGOTIATE and DECLINE mean?
They compare the load against your own figures, not a market opinion. DECLINE: the offered rate is at or below break-even after every cost line. NEGOTIATE: the load makes money but nets less per mile than your target — the calculator shows the rate that would reach the target, rounded up to the next $25, as a counter. ACCEPT: the net per mile over all miles, deadhead included, meets or beats your target. Change the target and the call changes with it.
Why net per mile over all miles rather than loaded miles?
Because the truck burns fuel and the driver earns pay on the empty miles too. Both figures are shown — net per loaded mile is what most rate conversations quote, net per all miles is what actually lands in the account. Deadhead above your tolerance is flagged separately.
Are the driver, fixed and maintenance figures real numbers?
The ones you type are. Until you change them, the calculator uses round illustrative placeholders so the shape of the answer is visible — they are labelled as placeholders and are not a survey or a benchmark. A free account saves your figures so every calculation starts from them; the trip's fuel, tolls and government costs are computed either way.
How is profit per hour calculated?
Net divided by planning hours: the routed drive time for the loaded leg, deadhead at a stated planning speed, plus the hours you set for pickup and delivery combined. Every assumption is printed under the cost breakdown.
How many calculations are free?
Three routed calculations a day without signing up; a free account lifts that to 10 a day, and paid plans run up to 100. Re-pricing the same route at a different rate, deadhead or cost figure is instant and does not use a calculation.
Related
Priced the load? TruePermit prices every load with your own figures
Save your cost model once, and every route, load and quarter is computed from it — with the filing calendar, alerts and the quarterly IFTA and weight-distance returns those miles feed into. Free for one truck.
Start freeRoute, mileage, fuel-price and tax figures are planning estimates, not filings or a rate recommendation. Diesel prices are weekly regional averages; rates change quarterly and fees change without notice; oversize/overweight and hazmat routing are not verified here. Confirm with each state before dispatch.