Free tool
Trucking break-even calculator
Your break-even distance is your fixed costs for the month divided by what each mile or kilometre leaves after its variable cost. Enter your fixed costs, variable cost and rate, and the tool shows the distance you need to run, the minimum rate at your planned distance, and the profit.
Your break-even
Enter your fixed costs, variable cost and rate to see your break-even.
Why know your break-even
Break-even tells you the point where the truck stops losing money and starts earning it. Below that distance each month, the fixed costs are not covered and every load still leaves you short. Knowing it lets you judge a rate before you accept it: a rate that only just covers variable costs keeps the truck moving but never pays for the truck itself. It also shows how much a slow month really costs.
Measure the distance you actually run
Break-even depends on how far the truck runs and what each mile costs. High Point GPS fleet tracking records every trip, the distance run, idle time and fuel use from engine data, with fuel and idle reports for each vehicle. You can compare paid and empty distance, and base your variable cost on measured fuel use instead of an estimate.
Get a quoteTips for a useful break-even
Put a month's share of yearly bills, such as insurance, permits and registration, in fixed costs so one month does not look better than it is.
Count fuel, tires, maintenance, tolls and driver pay per mile as variable costs, using your own records for the last few months.
Include empty miles in the planned distance. You pay for them even though no customer does.
Run the numbers again when fuel prices, insurance or your rates change. Break-even moves with every one of them.
Break-even questions
- How do I calculate break-even for a truck?
- Subtract your variable cost per mile from your rate per mile to get the margin each mile leaves. Divide your fixed costs for the month by that margin. The result is the number of paid miles you must run that month before the truck makes any profit. The same method works in kilometres.
- What counts as a fixed cost?
- A fixed cost is one you pay whether the truck runs or sits: truck and trailer payments or depreciation, insurance, permits and registration, and overhead such as office, software and accounting. If you are an owner-operator, include a wage for yourself so the break-even covers your own time and not only the truck.
- What counts as a variable cost?
- A variable cost rises with the distance you run: fuel, tires, maintenance and repairs, tolls, and driver pay when it is paid per mile or per kilometre. Divide each one by the distance run in the same period to get a cost per mile or per kilometre for the calculator.
- Why does it say I never break even?
- That message appears when your rate is equal to or lower than your variable cost per mile or kilometre. Each unit of distance then adds nothing toward fixed costs, or loses money, so no amount of driving covers them. The rate has to rise or the variable cost has to fall before a break-even point exists.
- What is the minimum rate?
- It is the lowest rate per mile or kilometre that covers all your costs at the distance you plan to run: your variable cost plus your fixed costs spread over that distance. Charging less loses money unless you run further. Your target rate is the minimum rate plus the profit you want.