Your cost per mile is the most important number in your business. It is the difference between "that load pays $2.10" meaning profit or meaning you paid to work. Most owner-operators who fail never calculated it honestly.
Step 1: Add up fixed costs (paid whether you drive or not)
- Truck payment: e.g. $2,200/month
- Insurance: e.g. $1,400/month
- Trailer payment or rent: e.g. $600/month
- ELD, load boards, software, parking: e.g. $300/month
- Plates, permits, UCR amortized: e.g. $250/month
Example fixed total: $4,750/month. At 9,000 miles a month, that is $0.53 per mile before the wheels even turn.
Step 2: Add variable costs (per-mile costs)
- Fuel: ~$0.55–0.70/mile depending on price and MPG
- Maintenance and tires reserve: $0.15–0.20/mile (yes, even on a new truck)
- Tolls and scales: $0.03–0.05/mile
Step 3: Pay yourself — on paper, before profit
The most common lie in trucking math is skipping the driver salary. If you would earn $0.60/mile as a company driver, your business must pay you that before you call anything profit. Add it as a line item: it belongs in the cost, not the leftovers.
The full example
Fixed $0.53 + fuel $0.62 + maintenance $0.18 + tolls $0.04 + driver pay $0.60 = $1.97 per mile all-in. That means a $2.10/mile load earns you 13 cents of true profit per mile — and a $1.85 load is a loss dressed up as revenue. Run this math on your own numbers before you book anything.
The Owner-Operator Startup Kit includes a fill-in cost-per-mile worksheet with every category pre-listed, so you can calculate your real floor in about twenty minutes.