Is This Load Worth It? How to Work Out a Load's Real Profit

A load board shows you a rate. It doesn't show you what the load leaves in your pocket. To know that, you need three things: what the load pays in total, every mile it makes you drive, and what each of those miles costs you. This guide walks through the check, step by step, with real numbers.

Step 1: Know your cost per mile

Everything starts with your all-in cost per mile (CPM). That's your fixed costs (truck payment, insurance, plates, permits) plus your variable costs (fuel, maintenance, tires, your own pay), divided by all the miles you run. If you don't have that number yet, work it out with the cost per mile calculator before you judge any load. The examples below use a CPM of $1.85.

Step 2: Add up what the load really pays

Total pay is more than the linehaul number:

• Linehaul. A flat rate, or a rate per loaded mile times the loaded miles.
• Fuel surcharge. Sometimes built into an all-in rate, sometimes listed separately as a flat amount or per mile.
• Accessorials. Extra pay on the rate con, like detention, stop-off charges, layover, or lumper reimbursement.

Step 3: Count every mile, not just loaded miles

The broker pays for the miles from shipper to receiver. You pay for those plus the empty miles to get to the shipper. Those empty miles are deadhead, and they cost the same per mile as loaded ones. Total miles = loaded miles + deadhead miles.

Step 4: Subtract every cost

Cost of the trip = total miles × your CPM, plus anything not already in your CPM, like tolls on this lane or a lumper fee you pay out of pocket. Profit is total pay minus that cost.

Step 5: Compare it to your target

Profit on its own isn't enough to judge a load. Divide it by total miles to get profit per mile, then compare that to the profit you want per mile on top of your costs. The load profit calculator gives every load one of three calls:

• GO: profit per total mile is at or above your target.
• MARGINAL: it covers every cost, but falls short of your target.
• NO-GO: it pays less than it costs to run.

Worked example: three loads on the same morning

Your CPM is $1.85 and you want at least $0.50 a mile profit on top of it. Three loads are on the board.

Load A: $2,150 flat, 780 loaded miles, 60 miles empty

• Total miles: 780 + 60 = 840
• Running cost: 840 × $1.85 = $1,554.00
• Tolls: $24, so total cost is $1,578.00
• Profit: $2,150 − $1,578 = $572.00
• Profit per mile: $572 ÷ 840 = $0.681

That's above the $0.50 target, so it's a GO. If it takes 16 hours door to door, it pays $572 ÷ 16 = $35.75 an hour after costs.

Load B: $1,400 flat, 410 loaded miles, 25 miles empty

• Total miles: 410 + 25 = 435
• Running cost: 435 × $1.85 = $804.75
• Profit: $1,400 − $804.75 = $595.25
• Profit per mile: $595.25 ÷ 435 = $1.368

Also a GO, and it leaves more profit than Load A on about half the miles. If the trip takes 9 hours, that's $66.14 an hour, almost twice Load A.

Load C: $3.10 a mile, 300 loaded miles, 180 miles empty

• Linehaul: 300 × $3.10 = $930.00
• Total miles: 300 + 180 = 480
• Running cost: 480 × $1.85 = $888.00
• Profit: $930 − $888 = $42.00
• Profit per mile: $42 ÷ 480 = $0.088

Load C has the best posted rate on the board and the worst result. It covers costs, so it's MARGINAL, but only just. The 180 empty miles eat almost everything. To reach your $0.50 target, it would need to pay $888 + (480 × $0.50) = $1,128.00, or $3.76 per loaded mile.

Look at profit per hour too

Miles aren't the only thing you're selling. You're also selling hours. For a property-carrying truck, federal hours-of-service rules allow up to 11 hours of driving within a 14-hour window after 10 hours off duty (49 CFR 395.3). Time spent waiting at a dock counts against that window. A load that ties you up for a whole day can pay less per hour than a shorter one, even if it looks better per mile. Put the door-to-door hours into the calculator and it shows profit per hour next to profit per mile.

When a MARGINAL load still makes sense

MARGINAL doesn't mean no. A load that only covers costs can still be the right move if it gets you out of a slow market and into a better one, or if it gets you home. Just make that call on purpose, knowing the number, not because the posted rate looked good.

Quick checklist before you book

• Is your CPM current? Redo it when fuel, insurance, or your payment changes.
• Did you count the empty miles to the shipper?
• Is fuel surcharge in the rate or on top of it?
• Are tolls or a lumper fee on this lane, and who pays them?
• What are the detention terms if you get stuck at the dock?
• Where does the load leave you, and what will the next load pay from there?

Want the lowest rate you can take before you call the broker? Use the break-even rate calculator. To see what the empty miles alone cost you, use the deadhead calculator.