Variable costs
- Fuel CPM: diesel price divided by MPG.
- Maintenance reserve: a planning allowance per mile for service, tires, wear, and repairs.
Operating baseline
Hotshot Cost Per Mile Calculator
A useful cost-per-mile estimate combines costs that change with miles and costs that continue every month. Realistic expected mileage matters because it determines how much fixed overhead is assigned to each mile.
Fixed costs
Truck payment, trailer payment, insurance, permits and registration, software, ELD, and load-board costs can be converted to a monthly total, then divided by expected monthly business miles.
Worked example
Suppose monthly truck, trailer, insurance, software, and permit allocations total $2,850. At 8,000 expected business miles, fixed cost is about $0.36 per mile. At $3.70 diesel and 9.5 MPG, fuel is about $0.39 per mile. Add a $0.18 maintenance reserve and the modeled baseline is about $0.93 per mile before dispatch fees and trip-specific costs.
If expected mileage drops to 5,000 while fixed costs stay $2,850, fixed cost rises to $0.57 per mile. The same equipment can therefore have a different modeled CPM as utilization changes.
Keep the baseline personal
Generic averages cannot know your payments, insurance, actual MPG, reserves, or how many business miles you expect. Update the Garage as those inputs change.
Planning results are estimates based on the information you enter. They are not guaranteed earnings, fuel, routing, tax, legal, accounting, safety, or regulatory advice. Verify routes, equipment limits, costs, and requirements before operating.