A load rate per loaded mile leaves out the miles needed to reach pickup or reposition afterward. Estimate the full trip before deciding what the payment leaves.
Calculate the whole trip
- Add loaded and empty miles.
- Divide total miles by your expected MPG.
- Multiply estimated gallons by your effective fuel price.
- Divide fuel expense and revenue by total miles to compare both on the same basis.
A practical example
Assume 1,000 loaded miles, 150 empty miles, 7 MPG, fuel at $5 per gallon and a $2,500 payment. Estimated fuel is $821.43, or 32.9% of the payment. Revenue is $2.17 per total mile; fuel is about $0.71 per total mile.
The $1,678.57 remaining is not profit. Driver pay, maintenance, insurance, equipment and other expenses still need to be covered. These are illustrative inputs, not a fuel quote or earnings forecast.
Which fuel price should you use?
Use your actual price when known. Regional averages provide context; they are not station quotes. Use the truck’s own MPG and count an included fuel surcharge only once.
Check dated EIA diesel benchmarks. Our calculator below uses weekly regional data and your own trip assumptions.
That $3-a-mile load may leave less than you think
Fictional teaching example, adapted from Rev G Chapter 2, pages 15–19. $2,400 revenue across 800 loaded and 200 empty miles is $3.00 per loaded mile and $2.40 per total mile. Neither is profit.
- Driving fuel
- $500 at 8 MPG and a hypothetical $4 per gallon
- Driver labor
- $600
- Maintenance and tires
- $150
- Tolls and trip charges
- $60
- Dispatch
- $120 — illustrative 5% fee, not a THS quote
- Factoring
- $72
- Contribution after these $1,502 trip costs
- $898
- Fixed operating allocation
- $300
- Simplified operating result
- $598 before tax and excluded items
A separate $200 principal payment leaves $398 of modeled cash. Do not count principal again as an operating expense. Check appointments, waiting, the next truck position and billing timing. A blank cost is not automatically zero. These are not client results, market averages or earnings promises.
Discuss dispatch support. A ready buyer can request an implementation scope without first buying a review. The separate Dispatch Performance Review is $195 for 60 minutes.
Read the complimentary THS book — Rev G, 110 pages. No purchase or appointment is required.
Company perspective · September 25, 2026
A clearer path from a question to reviewed work.
Read how the THS AI Operations Brief informs our service model, which capabilities still require confirmation and who remains accountable for decisions.
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