Straightforward guides for owner-operators and independent carriers covering freight rates, operating costs, deadhead, load profitability and dispatch decisions.
Understanding cost per mile gives you a baseline for evaluating rates, planning revenue and seeing whether a load has enough room to cover the expenses of running your truck.
Read the guide →Why there is no single RPM that works for every truck.
How unpaid positioning miles can change the economics of a load.
Look beyond the advertised rate before making a decision.
The goal is not to overwhelm you with hundreds of articles. Each guide focuses on a real question carriers deal with.
Cost per mile starts with the total expenses required to operate the truck divided by the number of miles driven during the same period. The calculation is simple, but the quality of the result depends on which expenses you include.
Fixed expenses can include truck payments, insurance, permits, subscriptions and other costs that exist whether the truck moves or not. Variable expenses can include fuel, maintenance, tires, repairs, tolls and other costs that rise as the truck operates.
Using your own records gives a more useful estimate than relying on a generic industry number. Once you understand your approximate cost per mile, you can compare it with the revenue a load may produce.
Use the Cost Per Mile Calculator →A truck's expenses extend beyond fuel. Insurance, truck and trailer payments, maintenance, tires, permits, accounting, communication, tolls and other operating costs can all affect profitability.
Keeping expenses organized helps you understand where revenue goes and makes your cost-per-mile estimate more realistic.
There is no universal rate per mile that automatically makes a load good or bad. The number needs to be compared with the cost of operating your specific truck and the total work required by the trip.
Two loads with the same advertised RPM can produce different results if one requires more deadhead, tolls, waiting time or expensive fuel along the route.
A useful approach is to compare the load's revenue with total trip miles and your estimated operating cost rather than relying only on the advertised loaded RPM.
Calculate Loaded and Effective RPM →Deadhead is distance traveled without a paying load. Those miles still require fuel, driver time and use of the equipment, so they should not disappear from the calculation simply because a broker is not paying for them.
One simple way to see the effect is to divide the load revenue by loaded miles plus deadhead miles. The result is your effective revenue per mile for that movement.
Start with the load rate and total mileage, including any distance required to reach the pickup. Then compare the revenue with your estimated operating cost for those miles.
Consider the pickup and delivery schedule, appointment requirements, tolls, expected fuel consumption and what freight may be available after delivery.
A higher rate is not always a better load if the trip creates excessive empty miles, long waiting periods or leaves the truck in an area where the next load is difficult to find.
Use the Load Profit Calculator →Gross revenue shows what the load pays. Profit depends on what remains after the costs associated with operating the truck and completing the trip are considered.
That distinction is why understanding expenses is just as important as understanding freight rates.
Dispatch support can help with routine tasks such as looking for loads, communicating with brokers, organizing carrier setup information and coordinating trip details.
The carrier should still understand the numbers behind the load and remain responsible for deciding which freight makes sense for the business.
Explore Torz Freight Dispatch Services →Before booking freight, review the rate, loaded and deadhead miles, pickup and delivery schedule, commodity details, required equipment and any unusual appointment or access requirements.
Having the important information before accepting the load can make the decision easier and reduce avoidable surprises later.
Use Torz Freight calculators with your actual operating costs and mileage.