Your break-even rate per total mile is just your cost per mile — but brokers quote per loaded mile, and your deadhead has to be paid for somehow. This turns your cost into the minimum rate per loaded mile you can accept, then the rate you need to hit a target profit.
Don't know your cost per mile yet? Build it with the cost-per-mile calculator first — including your own pay. Default $2.26 is ATRI's 2024 industry-average marginal cost. Deadhead default 12% is a common owner-operator range; use your own from trip records.
You break even on a load when the rate per total mile equals your all-in cost per mile — that part is simple. The catch is that nobody quotes loads per total mile. Brokers quote per loaded mile, and the deadhead you drive to the pickup earns nothing while still burning fuel and wear. So the paying loaded miles have to carry the deadhead too. If 12% of your miles run empty, only 88¢ of every mile is paid — which means your loaded-mile rate has to be your cost ÷ 0.88 to come out even.
Example: a $2.26 cost with 12% deadhead breaks even at $2.57/loaded mile; add a 10% margin and your quote floor is ~$2.83/loaded mile.
Knowing your floor before you pick up the phone changes the conversation. A broker offering $2.40/loaded mile on a lane where you'll run 15% deadhead is offering you a loss, even though $2.40 sounds fine. Drop your deadhead or your cost per mile and the floor falls — which is exactly why cutting empty miles and shopping fuel move real money.
Per total mile, it equals your all-in cost per mile. Per loaded mile (how loads are quoted) it's higher: cost ÷ (1 − deadhead share).
Empty miles earn nothing but still cost you, so the paid loaded miles must cover them. 12% deadhead turns a $2.26 cost into a ~$2.57 loaded-mile break-even.
Add your margin to the break-even loaded-mile rate. 10% on $2.57 ≈ $2.83/loaded mile.
Cost default uses ATRI's 2024 average marginal operating cost of $2.26/mile. Deadhead and margin are your inputs. Source: ATRI operational-cost reports. Last updated June 2026. Estimates for planning only. Built by TruckMargin.