Rate per mile calculator: what this load really pays
Enter the linehaul, fuel surcharge, extras and the empty miles to the pickup. The rate per mile calculator shows the rate brokers quote and what you earn per mile actually driven.
Defaults are an example load, not a market rate.
PER LOADED MILE
$2.75
what the broker quotes
PER MILE DRIVEN
$2.39
empty miles included
PAY $2,200
- Linehaul$1,800
- Fuel surcharge$400
MILES 920
- Loaded800 mi
- Empty to pickup120 mi
- Linehaul per loaded mile
- $2.25
- Empty share of the trip
- 13.0%
The empty miles take this load from $2.75 to $2.39 a mile actually driven.
This load pays $2.39 a mile driven. Our dispatchers plan reloads close to the drop to keep empty miles down, and plan loads around your hours and home time. Dispatch runs 5% of gross for one truck, and you confirm every load.
By Nathan Beck · Updated October 2026
Brokers quote a rate per loaded mile. You pay for every mile you drive, including the ones to get to the pickup. This rate per mile calculator, a simple trucking rates calculator for load offers, shows both: the loaded rate the broker talks about, and the all-in rate you actually earn per mile once empty miles are counted.
Linehaul, fuel surcharge and accessorials
A load's pay usually has up to three parts:
- Linehaul: the base rate for moving the freight.
- Fuel surcharge (FSC): extra pay that rises with diesel prices, quoted per mile or as a total. Some offers include it, some do not.
- Accessorials: detention, extra stop pay, layover, or lumper costs reimbursed. Count only what you will actually collect.
The calculator adds the parts you enter and divides by miles two ways. When you compare offers, compare the same thing: linehaul with linehaul, or all-in with all-in.
Average rate per mile for truck drivers
Averages give context, not a target. As one benchmark, DAT reported a national dry van spot linehaul average of $2.17 a mile for the week ending September 25, 2026, fuel not included. Your lane, equipment and timing can put you well above or below that. The number that should decide a load is your own trucking cost per mile, which you can enter here to see the margin.
POSTED: DAT, Dry Van Report (week ending Sep 25, 2026) · checked Oct 2026
How it is calculated
- Pay: linehaul, plus fuel surcharge (per loaded mile times loaded miles, or the total), plus accessorials.
- Per loaded mile: pay divided by loaded miles. This is the truck load rate a broker quotes.
- Per mile driven: pay divided by loaded plus empty miles.
- Empty share: empty miles as a share of all miles driven.
- Margin (optional): pay minus your cost per mile times all miles driven.
What a good result and a bad result look like
A good result has an all-in rate comfortably above your cost per mile and a small empty share, ideally with the next load close to the drop. A bad result has a strong loaded rate hiding a long deadhead, or an all-in rate under your costs. Fuel is the biggest cost those empty miles burn; the trip fuel cost calculator puts a dollar figure on them.
Think about where the load ends too. A drop in a region short on truck parking, which you can check in truck parking capacity by state, can cost you hours finding a spot. Knowing where your truck is and how long it sits helps you price that; commercial truck GPS tracking explains the options.
Rates are only half the plan
The best rate per mile comes from chaining loads, so the next pickup is close to the last drop and empty miles stay short. That planning is what our dispatchers do every day, around your hours and home time. They send each load to you first, and the rate con comes straight to you. If the numbers do not work, you say no. Read how it works for owner operators, or apply in about two minutes.
Questions about this calculator
What is the average rate per mile for truck drivers?
It moves every week with the market, equipment and lane. As one dated benchmark, DAT reported a national dry van spot linehaul average of $2.17 a mile for the week ending September 25, 2026, which excludes fuel surcharge. Reefer and flatbed run higher, and your own lanes can differ a lot. Your cost per mile matters more than any average.
Does rate per mile include the fuel surcharge?
It depends who is talking. Some brokers quote an all-in rate with fuel included, others quote linehaul plus a separate fuel surcharge. Benchmarks like DAT's linehaul average leave fuel out. Always ask which one you are being offered, and compare like with like. The calculator shows linehaul alone and the full rate with fuel and extras.
Is this a freight shipping rates calculator?
It works from the carrier side: it tells a trucker what a load offer pays per mile. Shippers pricing freight can use it to sanity-check a quote, but it does not price a shipment for you. For an estimate from the shipper side, use our freight shipping cost estimator, which builds a price from miles, equipment and costs.
Why does deadhead matter so much?
Because you pay for empty miles with fuel, wear and hours, but nobody pays you for them. A load that pays $2.75 a loaded mile with 120 miles empty to the pickup really pays about $2.39 for every mile you drive. Two loads with the same quoted rate can be very different once you count how far you drive to get them.
Fewer empty miles between your loads
We plan the reload near the drop. You approve every load.