Stop Guessing Freight Rates.
Start Underwriting.
Free operational cost-per-mile calculators built for independent owner-operators. Unmask your true break-even rate, protect against uncompensated deadhead, and evaluate live spot market broker loads in seconds.
Carrier Cost-Per-Mile & Rate Calculators
Calculate your exact equipment break-even rate and audit spot market broker quotes before dispatch.
Box Truck Cost-Per-Mile Calculator
Calculate exact operating costs for 16ft–26ft dock-high straight trucks. Account for uncompensated deadhead miles and establish the minimum break-even rate you need to stay profitable.
Calculate Box Truck CPMHotshot Cost-Per-Mile Calculator
Determine true operating costs for heavy-duty truck and gooseneck trailer setups. Accurately factor in commercial insurance, tire wear reserves, and separate trailer expenses.
Calculate Hotshot CPMLoad Profitability Calculator
Estimate your net profit before accepting a load. Run a broker's offer against your exact CPM, factoring in dispatch commissions, deadhead repositioning, and accessorial fees like lumpers.
Evaluate Spot LoadTrucking Finance & Fuel Card Audits
Uncover per-swipe transaction fees and annualized factoring APR before signing vendor agreements.
Fuel Card Net Savings Calculator
Unmask advertised pump discounts. Amortize flat per-swipe fees and monthly software dues against your actual fill-up volume to reveal your real net savings per gallon.
Audit Fuel Card Net SavingsFactoring True APR Calculator
Convert flat 2–5% factoring fees and spot quick-pay deductions into true annualized APR across 30 to 60-day terms. Uncover the real cost of working capital on Day-0 advances.
Calculate Factoring True APRCarrier Guides
Explore comprehensive operational guides, real-world cost-per-mile benchmarks, and cash flow underwriting formulas built specifically for commercial carriers.
Read Carrier GuidesHow to Underwrite Spot Freight Loads
A disciplined, sequential accounting workflow engineered to defend your operating margin before booking freight.
1. Build Your Break-Even Rate
Enter your recurring equipment debt, commercial insurance, fuel burn, and tire reserves to reveal your absolute zero-profit operating floor per loaded mile.
2. Evaluate a Spot Load
Run rate confirmations through the Load Profitability Calculator, incorporating origin deadhead miles, tolls, and dispatch fees to uncover true net trip margin.
3. Export & Defend Your Rate
Generate an instant, ad-free 1-page PDF deal sheet formatted for 8.5x11 printing to defend your break-even rate during broker negotiations.
The Difference Between Driving & Operating
Freight profitability isn't determined at the pump or on the odometer. It is determined by the financial discipline of your break-even rate before accepting a load.
Calculations Run on Your Device
Your financial records, truck debt, and margins belong exclusively to you. Every formula executes locally in your browser memory. Zero server database, zero tracking cookies, and no account required.
The Uncompensated Deadhead Floor
Empty repositioning miles consume diesel, wear tires, and burn hours of service without pay. TrueUnderwrite amortizes deadhead directly into your break-even rate to prevent hidden operational losses.
Future-Proofing Variable Reserves
Operating cash and personal profit are different. Our models include per-mile reserves you set for tires, fluids and major mechanical wear before showing your realized net margin.
Frequently Asked Questions
Direct, transparent answers regarding our underwriting methodology, data privacy, and freight calculations.
How does TrueUnderwrite calculate cost per mile?
It adds your fixed monthly costs (truck payment, insurance, permits, tolls and other overhead) to your per-mile costs (fuel plus the maintenance, tire and other reserves you enter), then divides by your paid loaded miles. You enter the share of miles you run empty, so deadhead is built in. The result is your break-even rate per loaded mile.
Why does deadhead matter when I quote a rate?
Empty miles cost fuel, tires and time but earn nothing. If you haul 500 miles at $2.00 ($1,000) and drive 100 empty miles to reach the load, you covered 600 miles, so you really earned $1.67 per mile. TrueUnderwrite builds your expected deadhead into the break-even rate, so your quote covers the empty miles you expect to run.
Is my data stored? Is it free?
The calculators are free, need no account, and run in your browser. We don't store your numbers. One exception: a shareable link contains your inputs, so anyone you send it to can see them. We use cookie-free analytics to count page views and measure load speed.
Why is factoring APR so much higher than the fee?
A flat fee is charged once, but APR annualizes it. Our calculator applies the fee to the full invoice, deducts it when you're funded, and measures the cost against the cash you actually receive. For example, a 3% fee with a 90% advance paid in 30 days works out to about 41.95% APR. Enter your own terms to see yours.
What rate per mile should I charge?
At least your break-even rate, plus the margin you want. The Box Truck and Hotshot calculators show both, and the Load Evaluator checks a broker's offer against them. Market rates vary by lane, season and equipment, so treat the result as your minimum, not a market quote.
Ready to calculate your break-even rate?
Know your cost floor before you accept your next load. Establish your break-even rate or audit a live broker quote in seconds.