Owner-Operator Lab

Free Lesson: Cost Per Mile

Build a minimum-rate rule from fixed cost, variable cost, owner pay, deadhead, and reserve funding.

Lesson 1 / Money floor

The first job of cost per mile is not precision. The first job is protection. A useful number tells you when a load is too weak before dispatch pressure makes it feel acceptable.

The rule

Separate fixed cost, variable cost, owner pay, taxes, and maintenance reserve. Then add the deadhead and sitting-time risk for the real load, not the perfect version of the load.

Fixed costTruck payment, insurance, permits, software, plates, parking, phone, and admin costs that exist before the truck moves.

Variable costFuel, DEF, tolls, tires, maintenance, transaction fees, factoring cost, and driver/owner pay tied to running.

Risk bufferMaintenance reserve, tax reserve, bad week cushion, and the cost of empty miles or waiting.

Operator math

If fixed cost is $1,450 per week and the truck normally runs 2,300 loaded and empty miles, fixed cost starts near $0.63 per mile before fuel, maintenance, owner pay, or reserve. A $2.00 load can still be weak if the reload, dwell time, and empty miles are ugly.

Do this this week

Write every weekly fixed cost on one page.
Write the last seven days of fuel and miles.
Add a maintenance reserve line before calculating profit.
Set one reject-rate floor for the next week.

Course standard: if the number cannot change a dispatch decision, it is trivia. A cost-per-mile sheet has to create a yes/no rule.

Need the editable worksheet? The Business Kit includes the cost-per-mile planner, maintenance reserve sheet, invoice tracker, and broker scorecard.

Request the Business Kit