# What is a cost per mile and how do I calculate it for a truck?

Cost per mile is everything the truck costs you in a period divided by the miles driven. ProfitDrawer's box truck guide works a month: 6,000 miles with $2,280 of fuel, a $1,100 payment, $900 of insurance, $720 set aside for maintenance and tires and $300 of other fixed costs, for $5,300. Divided by 6,000 miles, that is about $0.88 a mile. Example numbers only.

Use it to judge loads on **total miles**, empty miles included. In the box truck example, a broker offers $420 for a 180-mile run with 40 empty miles to pick up:

- Total miles: 220, so $420 / 220 = $1.91 per total mile.
- Cost: 220 x $0.88 = $194.
- Left: $226 before your own pay and taxes.

Our one-truck trucking guide runs the same math for a larger truck: 10,000 miles a month and $12,340 of costs, about $1.23 a mile. A $2,400 load of 900 loaded plus 100 empty miles pays $2.67 per loaded mile but $2.40 per total mile, leaving $1,166.

How to work out yours:

1. Add a month of fuel, truck payment, insurance, permits, phone and load board costs.
2. Add a set-aside per mile for maintenance and tires.
3. Divide by all miles driven that month.

Recalculate when fuel prices change. These are example numbers, not market rates.

- Source: [How to Start a Box Truck Business (Non-CDL, Step by Step)](https://profitdrawer.com/guides/how-to-start-a-box-truck-business.html)
- Updated: 2026-10-29
- Published: 2026-10-29
- Category: Pricing and profit
- Canonical: https://profitdrawer.com/answers/what-is-a-cost-per-mile-and-how-do-i-calculate-it-for-a-truck.html
- Publisher: ProfitDrawer (https://profitdrawer.com)