Tool
Spot rate evaluator
Enter the gross pay, miles, and your operating cost to find out whether a spot rate offer actually makes money — accounting for deadhead miles in the true cost calculation.
Load details
Rate offer
Enter the total pay shown on the rate confirmation or broker quote, including any expected fuel surcharge.
Miles
Include all empty miles needed to reach the pickup from your current location.
Operating cost
Use your total CPM including fuel, insurance, payment, maintenance, and other fixed and variable costs.
Profit target
Enter the profit margin you want to earn above total trip cost. Use 0 to check break-even only.
Rate analysis
Why all-in rate per mile matters more than rate per loaded mile
A broker quoting $2,200 on an 800-mile load sounds like $2.75 per loaded mile — a strong rate in most markets. But if getting to the pickup requires 100 empty miles, the truck actually moves 900 miles total. The all-in rate drops to $2.44 per total mile. If your cost per mile is $1.85, the load still works — but the margin is smaller than the loaded-mile rate implied. Carriers who only track rate per loaded mile consistently overestimate how much a load actually earns.
The deadhead percentage matters over time. A single load with 10% deadhead may be fine. A week where every load runs 20% deadhead means a large share of your truck's miles produce zero revenue. Track deadhead percentage alongside rate per loaded mile to spot when your dispatch patterns are generating unnecessary empty miles.
What to do when a load is below your target but above break-even
A load that covers costs but does not hit your target margin is not automatically worth taking or refusing. Consider the alternative: if the truck would sit or run further empty, a marginal load that clears break-even may be better than the alternative. If the load positions the truck for a stronger next load on a good lane, the margin math changes when the full sequence is considered. Use this tool to set a floor, not a ceiling — know your break-even, and make deliberate choices about when accepting something below your margin target actually makes sense given the dispatch situation.