Rate Per Mile Calculator | Trucking Rate Per Mile & Cost Per Mile Calculator

FAQ

Rate per mile questions

How do you calculate rate per mile in trucking?

Divide the total load pay by the miles. For example, $2,000 for 800 loaded miles is $2.50 per loaded mile.

Should I use loaded miles or total miles?

Use both. Rate per loaded mile is what brokers usually quote, but rate per total mile (loaded plus deadhead) shows what the truck actually earns for every mile it drives.

What is deadhead?

Deadhead is the empty miles driven to pick up a load or to get back after delivering one. Those miles cost fuel and time but usually are not paid.

How do I figure my cost per mile?

Fuel cost per mile is the fuel price per gallon divided by your miles per gallon. The fuel price fills in automatically with the latest U.S. Department of Energy (EIA) weekly U.S. average retail on-highway diesel price, updated every week. You can type over it with your own price. Add your other per-mile costs (truck payment, insurance, maintenance, tires, permits, and so on) to get total cost per mile.

How do I estimate profit on a load?

Subtract your total cost per mile from your rate per total mile, then multiply by total miles for the profit on the load.

Can it figure the miles for me?

Yes. Type an origin and destination (city and state or an address) and click Get miles. It looks up approximate driving miles with free OpenStreetMap data and fills in the loaded miles. That is a car route, so truck routes may differ; check the route on Google Maps and type over the miles if needed.

Does this calculator show market rates?

No. It does not show average or market rates or a quote. The rate per mile starts at $2.00 plus 15% of the weekly DOE diesel price only as a starting number for the math; type over it with your own rate.

About

Who built this calculator

This rate per mile calculator is offered free by CW Leasing & Transport Inc, a trucking company founded in 1990, and its sister company CW Logistics, founded in 2001, which adds capacity through partner and dedicated carriers. Both are family businesses in South Bend, Indiana that Rodney and Christi McDonald were fortunate to buy and carry forward.

We have been figuring miles and rates for more than 31 years while running last-minute, surprise and immediate-need transportation for tours, sports and live events. CW is an EPA SmartWay Transport Partner since 2017, and certificates of insurance are available on request. Want a real load moved instead of a number? Visit Tourtrucks.com.

"When you prepare for the unpredictable, chaos is just another tool in your arsenal." — Rodney McDonald, President

Meet the Team

Rodney McDonald

President, CW Leasing & Transport Inc and CW Logistics

Rodney McDonald opened his first company at 20 and learned Murphy's Law the hard way: anything that can go wrong, will. What matters is how you handle the problem and how you plan for the unknown. For more than 31 years he has handled last-minute, surprise and immediate-need transportation for sports and entertainment. CW Leasing & Transport (est. 1990) and its sister company CW Logistics (est. 2001) are family businesses that Rodney and Christi were fortunate to buy and carry forward. Under his leadership, CW has been an EPA SmartWay Transport Partner since 2017. His motto: "When you prepare for the unpredictable, chaos is just another tool in your arsenal."

Christi McDonald

Vice President, CW Leasing & Transport Inc and CW Logistics

Christi McDonald is one of the founders of the business and has worked in trucking since 1995. She started out sending letters on a typewriter. Over the years she worked her way up to running 180 trucks on a Sunday-night load-in, and today she helps keep the company running like a well-oiled machine. Christi has been Vice President of RPM-CLM Family Enterprises since 2004, and Vice President of CW Leasing & Transport Inc and CW Logistics since 2016. She encourages every customer and driver to reach out to the team for anything they need. Her faith in God and her commitment to family guide everything she does, and she brings that same care to the CW family of employees, drivers and customers. Outside the office, she supports local animal rescue, including The Meow Mission.

Kyra Lash

Dispatcher

Kyra Lash joined CW Leasing & Transport Inc as a Dispatcher in August 2026, "trading lab coats for logistics." A gifted learner from an early age, she began taking pre-college courses at Northwestern University's Center for Talent Development at age 10, studying engineering, pre-law, mathematics and theater arts. She started her associate degree in biology at Ivy Tech Community College as a junior in high school and finished it at 19. At 21 she earned her bachelor's degree in biology from Purdue University. She then spent three years as a medical laboratory technician and scientist with Alverno Laboratories and Northwest Cancer Centers. This isn't her first time at CW: starting her freshman year of high school, she worked at the company during breaks from school and college. Today she handles morning check calls, enters and dispatches tour loads, and works with tour logistics partners on rates and driver pay. Kyra also danced competitively, starting at age 3.

Crissy Bolinger

Office Manager

Crissy Bolinger has been Office Manager at CW Leasing & Transport Inc since September 1997, making her one of the longest-tenured members of the team. She keeps the office side of both CW Leasing & Transport Inc and CW Logistics on track. She handles daily receivables reporting and company account reconciliation, works with the company's outside accountants each month, and manages the electronic logging system. When drivers' pay or paperwork needs sorting out, Crissy is the steady hand behind the scenes. She is a graduate of Floyd Central Junior-Senior High School.

Darlene Fisher

Fleet Specialist

Darlene Fisher has been a Fleet Specialist at CW Leasing & Transport Inc since November 2015. Her day starts with morning check calls, using live truck locations to keep every load's status current. She answers phones, dispatches drivers, sets up new customers, and keeps fleet records and reminders up to date. When a truck or trailer needs attention on the road, Darlene coordinates the repair so drivers can get moving again. She is often the first friendly voice customers and owner-operators hear when they call. Before joining CW in 2015, she worked for RPM-CLM Family Enterprises from 2002 to 2005. She is a graduate of Washington High School in South Bend. Her late husband, Bruce, was a mentor to Rodney and Christi McDonald from 1996 through 2006 and an integral part of the company's success.

Kathy Czajkowski

Dispatch & Account Representative

Kathleen "Kathy" Czajkowski brings 26 years of dispatch and account representative experience, including towaway and RV dispatch and quoting loads. Over her career she has also dispatched moving units for the U.S. Border Patrol, the FBI and other government agencies. At CW Leasing & Transport Inc she matches power-only trucks to tour and event loads. Each day she sends customers updated lists of where trucks are available, and she keeps track of driver availability across the country. Kathy holds an associate's degree in Accounting & Data Processing from Davenport College. A dependable, outgoing people person with great communication skills, she helps keep trucks loaded and customers informed.

Karen Jankowski

Billing Department

Karen Jankowski runs billing for CW Leasing & Transport Inc and CW Logistics. Every morning she sends out the accounts receivable aging report. Throughout the day she handles invoicing, credit memos, fuel reports and outside carrier payments. Karen carefully checks each rate sheet against the final invoice so customers are billed accurately and carriers are paid on time. Her careful work keeps the financial side of every move clean and clear, and she has helped train newer team members on the billing process.

Yvette Hartman

Sales

Yvette Hartman joined CW Leasing & Transport Inc in sales, working remotely from the Chicago area. She focuses on entertainment, tours, live events and trade shows. She began in shipping and receiving, then booked loads for a third-party logistics firm. From 2016 to 2023 she worked as an independent logistics specialist, handling account management, sales, load planning, dispatching, new carrier setups, invoicing and customer service. She then spent a year and a half at another entertainment carrier as Entertainment Coordinator and Operations Manager Assistant. At CW, she has handled specialty moves across the US and into and out of Canada.

Rate per mile calculator: know what every mile pays.

Trucking rate per mile calculator

Miles between two places (optional)

1. Rate per mile

2. Load pay from a rate

3. Cost per mile (optional)

4. Owner operator split (optional)

How to calculate rate per mile

Loaded miles vs. total miles (deadhead)

Cost per mile