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How to Calculate Your True Cost Per Mile for Owner-Operators

Written by
John Ornelas
Updated on
November 14, 2025

The load board is glowing. You’re parked at a truck stop just off I-35 in Dallas, looking at a run to Atlanta. The rate looks decent. At least, you think it does.

You take the load. You buy your fuel, you drive the miles, and the check clears. Money is in the bank. But then you pay your insurance. You get an oil change. You set aside money for that tire you know is wearing thin. At the end of the month, you look at your account and wonder, "Where did it all go? Am I actually making money?"

This is the single most common and dangerous question in the owner-operator business. In a logistics hub as competitive as Dallas-Ft. Worth, "guessing" at your profitability is not a business strategy. It is a gamble.

The only way to move from "guessing" to "knowing" is to calculate your Cost Per Mile (CPM). This one number is the foundation of your entire business. It is your break-even point. It tells you the absolute minimum you must earn on every single mile you drive just to keep the lights on.

Knowing this number turns the load board from a casino into a calculator. It empowers you to bid on loads profitably and confidently. Here is a no-nonsense guide to finding it.

The Two Kinds of Costs: Fixed and Variable

Before you can calculate anything, you must understand where your money is going. Every single expense your business has falls into one of two categories. You must separate them.

  1. Fixed Costs: These are the expenses you pay every month, whether your truck moves one mile or ten thousand miles. They are relentless. You pay them even when you are on vacation.
  2. Variable Costs: These are the expenses directly tied to driving. The more you drive, the more you pay. If you park the truck for a week, these costs (mostly) drop to zero.

You cannot find your true CPM until you know what your costs are in both categories. This requires diligent tracking. A spreadsheet, a notebook, or bookkeeping software—it doesn't matter how you do it, but you must do it.

Step 1: Calculate Your Fixed Costs

Your fixed costs are your monthly overhead. The goal here is to find a total monthly fixed cost. Go through your bank statements and business records for the last few months to get an accurate average.

Your list will look something like this:

  • Truck payment
  • Trailer payment (if you own one)
  • Insurance (liability, cargo, physical damage)
  • Health insurance
  • Licenses and permits (your base IRP, 2290, etc., averaged out per month)
  • Phone bill
  • ELD (Electronic Logging Device) subscription
  • Load board subscriptions
  • Accounting or bookkeeping fees
  • Business bank account fees
  • Parking or yard fees

Add all these up. Let’s use an example.

Example: Monthly Fixed Costs

  • Truck & Trailer Payment: $2,200
  • All Insurance: $1,300
  • Licenses & Permits (averaged): $150
  • Phone, ELD, Subscriptions: $120
  • Total Monthly Fixed Costs: $3,770

Now, to turn this into a "per mile" cost, you need one more number: your average monthly miles.

Be honest with yourself. Don't use the "perfect month" you had last year. Look at your last six months and find a realistic average. Let's say you reliably drive 10,000 miles per month.

The formula is simple:

(Total Monthly Fixed Costs) / (Average Monthly Miles) = Fixed CPM

Using our example:

$3,770 / 10,000 miles = $0.377 per mile

This is your Fixed CPM. This number reveals a critical business truth: the more miles you drive, the lower your Fixed CPM becomes. Your $3,770 in bills gets spread thinner across more miles, making each mile more profitable.

Step 2: Calculate Your Variable Costs

Variable costs are all about the operation of the truck. We calculate these per mile from the start.

Fuel

This is your largest variable cost. You absolutely must know your truck's average fuel economy.

(Price Per Gallon) / (Your Average MPG) = Fuel CPM

The price of diesel in the DFW area fluctuates. Let's use an average of $4.10 per gallon. Your truck, loaded, realistically gets 6.5 miles per gallon.

$4.10 / 6.5 MPG = $0.63 per mile

Your fuel cost is 63 cents for every mile you drive.

Maintenance and Repairs

This is the number that puts new owner-operators out of business. You cannot wait for a $15,000 engine overhaul and call it a "bad month." It is a predictable business expense that you must save for with every mile you drive.

You must create a maintenance fund. This is a non-negotiable part of your variable costs.

How much? This depends on the age and condition of your truck.

  • Newer Truck (in warranty): $0.10 - $0.15 per mile
  • Mid-Life Truck: $0.15 - $0.25 per mile
  • Older Truck (out of warranty): $0.25 - $0.40+ per mile

Let's assume you have a reliable, mid-life truck. You decide to set aside $0.20 per mile for maintenance. This is not a "profit." This is a cost. Every time you get paid for a load, you should move 20 cents for every mile of that load into a separate savings account. This account pays for tires, oil changes, and the inevitable major repair.

Other Variable Costs

Don't forget the rest. Look at your records and average them out on a per-mile basis.

  • Tires: A set of tires might cost $7,000 and last 300,000 miles. ($7,000 / 300,000 = $0.023 per mile).
  • Tolls: Very route-dependent. If you run the toll roads in North Texas or out east, this adds up. A realistic average might be $0.04 per mile.
  • Factoring Fees: If you factor your loads at 3%, that is 3% of your revenue, not your cost. We will account for this differently.
  • Lumper Fees & Scales: Average this out. Maybe it comes to $0.01 per mile.

Now, let's add up your Variable CPM.

Example: Variable CPM

  • Fuel: $0.63
  • Maintenance Fund: $0.20
  • Tires: $0.023
  • Tolls & Other: $0.05
  • Total Variable CPM: $0.903 per mile

This number is relatively stable. It does not change whether you drive 5,000 or 12,000 miles. It is the direct cost of rolling down the highway.

Step 3: Find Your Total Cost Per Mile

This is the easy part. You just add your two numbers together.

Fixed CPM + Variable CPM = Total Cost Per Mile

Using our complete example:

$0.377 (Fixed) + $0.903 (Variable) = $1.28 per mile

There it is. $1.28.

This is the most important number in your business. This is your break-even point. This is the cost of running the truck.

If you book a 1,000-mile load for $1,280, you have made exactly $0. You paid for your fuel, you funded your maintenance account, you covered your insurance... and you paid yourself nothing.

Step 4: Pay Yourself (The Most Important Part)

The $1.28 CPM does not include your salary. An owner-operator wears two hats: the business owner and the employee (driver). The CPM we just calculated pays for the business. It does not pay the driver.

You must decide what you are worth. What do you want your "driver salary" to be?

Let's say you want to take home $70,000 per year. After factoring in payroll taxes (FICA, etc.) and benefits, that might cost your business $90,000 per year.

You must add this to your costs. The easiest way is to add it to your fixed costs.

$90,000 / 12 months = $7,500 per month

Now, let's re-calculate your true break-even number, the one that includes paying you.

  • Original Fixed Costs: $3,770
  • Your Salary: $7,500
  • New Total Fixed Costs: $11,270

Now, re-run the Fixed CPM formula:

$11,270 / 10,000 miles = $1.127 per mile

And find your new Total CPM:

$1.127 (Fixed + Salary) + $0.903 (Variable) = $2.03 per mile

This, $2.03, is your real number. This is the number that pays for the truck, pays for the fuel, saves for repairs, and pays you a $70,000 salary.

Any rate above $2.03 per mile is pure business profit.

How to Use This Number in the DFW Market

You are back at the truck stop. You know your "all-in" number is $2.03 per mile.

You see that load to Atlanta. It's 781 miles.

  • Offer 1: $1,450. You do the math: $1,450 / 781 miles = $1.86 per mile. This is below your $2.03 break-even. You are literally paying to haul this load. You would be short-changing your own salary.
  • Offer 2: $1,700. You do the math: $1,700 / 781 miles = $2.18 per mile. This is above your $2.03 break-even. You will make $0.15 of pure profit on every mile, totaling $117.15 on top of paying yourself.
  • Offer 3: $2,100. You do the math: $2,100 / 781 miles = $2.69 per mile. This is a great load. You will make $0.66 of profit per mile, totaling $515.46 in profit.

Suddenly, the load board is not a mystery. It is a set of simple math problems. You know which loads to fight for and which to ignore.

You can also bid strategically. What about that backhaul from Atlanta? You know your deadhead cost is $1.28 per mile (your cost without your salary). You can use this to bid on a backhaul just to cover costs and get you to a better market, knowing you made your profit on the headhaul.

Knowledge is control.

It all starts with tracking. You cannot calculate any of this if you do not know your numbers. You must track every fuel receipt, every insurance payment, and every subscription. Accurate, consistent bookkeeping is not optional for a successful owner-operator. It is the tool that provides the data you need to survive and thrive.

Stop guessing. Start calculating. Know your number, and take control of your business.