How to Calculate Trucking Cost Per Mile

A worked example showing every line item in a small-fleet cost-per-mile calculation, using current ATRI benchmarks.

Steps

1. List your fixed monthly costs

Truck payment, trailer payment, insurance, permits, ELD subscription, base plates, accounting software. These costs hit whether the truck rolls or not. Add them to a single monthly fixed-cost number.

2. List your variable per-mile costs

Fuel, oil, tires, maintenance, tolls, scale fees, driver pay (if per-mile). These scale with miles driven.

3. Track total miles per month

From your ELD, pull total miles for the past 90 days. Use the average — not your best month — for an honest CPM.

4. Calculate CPM

CPM = (Fixed Costs + Variable Costs) / Total Miles. Example: ($8,000 fixed + $10,000 variable) / 9,000 miles = $2.00 CPM.

5. Add a target margin

Healthy small carriers target 15%–25% margin. At $2.00 CPM with a 20% margin, your minimum bookable rate is $2.40/mi.

6. Recalculate quarterly

Fuel, insurance, and maintenance shift constantly. Recalculate CPM every quarter — using last quarter CPM in a high-fuel quarter quietly destroys margin.