How the freight economics work.
RigReceipts keeps cost, loaded-rate planning and specific-load evaluation separate so one number is not asked to answer three different questions.
Truck cost per mile
Operating cost per all mile = total operating cost ÷ all business miles. Fixed costs such as payments and insurance are spread across all miles, while fuel, maintenance, tires and other variable costs move with the truck. Deadhead miles belong in the denominator because they consume operating cost even when they produce no freight revenue.
Open the Truck Cost Per Mile Calculator →
Loaded RPM and all-mile RPM
Loaded RPM = offered pay ÷ loaded miles. All-mile RPM = offered pay ÷ (loaded miles + deadhead miles). A quoted trucking rate per mile can therefore look attractive on loaded miles while producing weaker economics across the miles actually driven.
Weekly break-even
Weekly break-even cost = weekly fixed costs + (variable cost per mile × projected total weekly miles). Break-even all-mile RPM = weekly break-even cost ÷ projected total weekly miles.
Weekly target
Weekly revenue needed = weekly break-even cost + desired weekly driver pay + desired weekly reserve. Target all-mile RPM = weekly revenue needed ÷ projected total weekly miles. Target loaded RPM = weekly revenue needed ÷ expected loaded weekly miles.
Average trucking cost per mile
Industry averages are benchmarks, not a carrier's break-even. ATRI's 2026 Operational Costs of Trucking report put the industry-average cost to operate a truck in 2025 at $2.336 per mile. Your equipment, insurance, fuel economy, maintenance, utilization and dead miles can produce a materially different number.
Source: American Transportation Research Institute — Operational Costs of Trucking.
Specific-load verdict
- ACCEPT: offered all-mile RPM meets or exceeds target all-mile RPM.
- COUNTER: offered all-mile RPM covers break-even but is below target all-mile RPM.
- PASS: offered all-mile RPM is below break-even all-mile RPM.
The target loaded RPM remains a planning metric but does not control the verdict for a specific load.