Free Tool · Updated With ATRI's July 2026 Report
Trucking Expense Calculator
It cost a record $2.336 per mile to run a truck in 2025 — and Q1 2026 costs are still climbing, led by insurance and fuel. Answer four quick questions below to see what it costs to run a truck like yours — and exactly where the money goes. Know your own numbers? Enter them line by line and benchmark against carriers in your sector and region.
Cost Per Mile Calculator
Know Your Number Before You Book Your Next Load
Four quick questions get you an instant estimate built on the latest industry averages from ATRI's Operational Costs of Trucking: 2026 Update. Want more precision? Flip to "I Know My Costs" and enter your own numbers line by line.
That's it — your estimate uses the average costs reported by carriers of your fleet size in your sector and region. Small fleets pay the industry's highest insurance rates but spend far less on equipment; large fleets run the opposite trade. Know what you actually pay? Switch to "I Know My Costs."
Where the money goes
Based on the industry average
*Assumes % empty (deadhead) miles — the 2025 industry average was 16.5%. Loads priced below break-even lose money before overhead.
Your insurance line looking heavy? Small fleets pay the industry's highest premiums per mile — shopping 30+ A-rated markets in one application is the fastest fix.
Get My QuoteThe 2026 Numbers
What It Costs to Run a Truck in 2026
ATRI's July 2026 report puts the average marginal cost of trucking at $2.336 per mile — the highest ever recorded, and the first year since the pandemic that costs accelerated instead of cooling. Every line item except fuel and permits hit a record high.
| Cost Line Item | Per Mile | Per Hour | Change vs 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driver Wages | $0.818 | $37.36 | +2.5% |
| Fuel | $0.482 | $22.01 | +0.2% |
| Truck & Trailer Lease or Purchase Payments | $0.404 | $18.45 | +3.6% |
| Repair & Maintenance | $0.215 | $9.82 | +8.6% |
| Driver Benefits | $0.210 | $9.59 | +6.6% |
| Truck Insurance Premiums | $0.106 | $4.84 | +3.9% |
| Tires | $0.050 | $2.28 | +6.4% |
| Tolls | $0.043 | $1.96 | +13.2% |
| Permits & Licenses | $0.008 | $0.37 | −11.1% |
| Total | $2.336 | $106.69 | +3.4% |
Cost Per Mile Keeps Climbing
Average total marginal cost per mile, 2016–2025 · Source: ATRI
Two things stand out in this year's data. First, driver compensation crossed the one-dollar mark for the first time: wages plus benefits now average $1.028 per mile — 44 percent of a truck's total operating cost. Second, the pressure has shifted to the cost lines carriers control least. Tolls jumped 13.2 percent, repair and maintenance rose 8.6 percent as fleets stretched trade cycles, and driver benefits climbed 6.6 percent on medical inflation.
The early read on 2026 is more of the same, with a new leader: insurance premiums rose 6.4 percent in Q1 2026 — the fastest-rising line item in trucking — followed by fuel at 5.9 percent after the Strait of Hormuz disruption pushed diesel above $5.50 per gallon. If you're renewing coverage this year, budget accordingly — or see what carriers actually pay for truck insurance and make the market compete for your account.
Benchmarks
Cost Per Mile by Sector
Your sector changes your baseline. LTL networks carry the highest per-mile costs, truckload runs the leanest, and specialized operations (flatbed, reefer, tanker, intermodal) sit in between with heavier equipment and tire spend.
| Sector | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2025 ex-Fuel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Less-than-Truckload (LTL) | $2.55 | $2.49 | $2.58 | $2.12 |
| Specialized (flatbed, tanker, reefer) | $2.33 | $2.32 | $2.39 | $1.85 |
| Truckload | $2.11 | $2.13 | $2.21 | $1.72 |
Margins tell the sharper story. In 2025, LTL carriers averaged an 11.6 percent operating margin while truckload scraped by at 0.4 percent, refrigerated at 0.6 percent, and flatbed fell to −0.5 percent. When the average dry van truckload carrier keeps less than one cent of every revenue dollar, knowing your cost per mile isn't bookkeeping — it's survival. That's doubly true for new authorities, whose first-year insurance costs run well above these averages; our new authority startup guide walks through the full first-year budget.
Benchmarks
Cost Per Mile by Region
Where you run matters almost as much as what you haul. The spread between the cheapest and most expensive regions is nearly 29 cents per mile — over $24,000 a year on average miles.
| Cost Item | Midwest | Northeast | Southeast | South Central | West |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel | $0.466 | $0.491 | $0.454 | $0.457 | $0.535 |
| Truck Payments | $0.294 | $0.321 | $0.270 | $0.280 | $0.324 |
| Trailer Payments | $0.128 | $0.125 | $0.109 | $0.107 | $0.134 |
| Repair & Maintenance | $0.214 | $0.221 | $0.198 | $0.194 | $0.219 |
| Insurance Premiums | $0.098 | $0.120 | $0.110 | $0.102 | $0.111 |
| Permits & Licenses | $0.007 | $0.009 | $0.009 | $0.011 | $0.006 |
| Tires | $0.051 | $0.050 | $0.050 | $0.052 | $0.046 |
| Tolls | $0.038 | $0.079 | $0.041 | $0.036 | $0.021 |
| Driver Wages | $0.748 | $0.852 | $0.802 | $0.781 | $0.764 |
| Driver Benefits | $0.186 | $0.248 | $0.201 | $0.210 | $0.216 |
| Total | $2.230 | $2.516 | $2.245 | $2.229 | $2.377 |
The Northeast tops every major category — highest driver wages, benefits, repair costs, insurance, and tolls at nearly double the national average. The West is second-costliest and saw the biggest jump in 2025 (+26.5 cents), driven by fuel at $0.535 per mile and the priciest equipment in the country. The South Central region remains the cheapest place to run a truck, and the Midwest was the only region where multiple line items actually fell. Garaging state is also one of the eight biggest factors underwriters price on — here's the full list.
Where Marquee Can Move Your Number
Insurance: The Fastest-Rising Cost in Trucking
Premiums averaged $0.106 per mile in 2025 — up 3.9 percent in a year when truck crash rates actually fell — and Q1 2026 renewals came in another 6.4 percent higher. Premiums are also only part of the picture: your total cost of risk includes deductibles, self-insured losses, and litigation.
| Fleet Size | Premiums | Out-of-Pocket | Litigation | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fewer than 5 trucks | $0.159 | $0.022 | — | $0.181 |
| 5–25 trucks | $0.150 | $0.003 | — | $0.154 |
| 26–100 trucks | $0.162 | $0.021 | $0.002 | $0.185 |
| 101–250 trucks | $0.119 | $0.016 | $0.007 | $0.142 |
| 251–1,000 trucks | $0.110 | $0.031 | $0.015 | $0.156 |
| More than 1,000 trucks | $0.076 | $0.054 | $0.036 | $0.166 |
Notice the pattern: the smallest fleets pay the highest premium rates in the industry — $0.159 per mile for carriers under five trucks, roughly 50 percent above the industry average. At 86,000 annual miles, that's about $13,700 per truck per year in liability and cargo premiums alone. ATRI's research points to what actually brings the number down: safety technology deployment correlates with lower liability losses, and fleets that shop and restructure coverage see improved total cost of risk in the following policy year.
- Make markets compete.
One application with Marquee reaches 30+ A-rated trucking insurers. Carriers that never see competition never sharpen their pencil.
- Deploy safety tech — and get credit for it.
Telematics, dash cams, and ELD-verified habits can lower your premium and defend you in a claim. Make sure your underwriter is pricing them in.
- Right-size limits and deductibles.
ATRI found fleets retaining more primary risk often lower their total cost of risk. Review auto liability, cargo, and physical damage together, not in silos.
- Protect your CSA scores like revenue.
Underwriters price your inspection history. A clean BASIC profile compounds into cheaper renewals every year.
- Renew early, not desperate.
Starting 60–90 days out keeps leverage on your side of the table — especially in a market rising 6 percent a year.
Put It to Work
Five Ways to Use Your Cost Per Mile
- Set your walk-away rate.
Your cost per mile ÷ (1 − deadhead %) is the minimum rate per loaded mile that keeps you whole. At the industry-average $2.336 and 16.5% empty miles, that's about $2.80 per loaded mile before profit or overhead.
- Find your outlier line item.
If one bar in the calculator sits far right of its benchmark tick, that's your project for the quarter — whether it's fuel discipline (the industry averages 7.43 MPG), a maintenance reserve, or an insurance re-shop.
- Budget for what's coming, not what was.
Q1 2026 leading indicators: insurance +6.4%, fuel +5.9%, driver benefits +4.5%, tolls +2.7%. Build next year's rate targets on those slopes.
- Price detention into your lanes.
Average dwell hit 1 hour 49 minutes per stop in 2025, and detention cost carriers an estimated $5,392 per truck. If a shipper consistently holds your trucks, your cost per mile on that lane is higher than you think.
- Time equipment decisions.
Fleets stretched trade cycles to 7 years / 634k miles in 2025 — and paid for it with R&M up 8.6% and breakdowns every 36,891 miles. Your payments line and your maintenance line are one budget, not two.
The Marquee Advantage
One Application. 30+ A-Rated Markets.
Marquee Insurance Group specializes in commercial trucking insurance — from single-truck new authorities to large fleets. We shop your risk across 30+ A-rated carriers, structure coverage around how you actually operate, and back it with claims advocacy when it counts.
Trucking Specialists
Trucking is all we do. Our team knows the difference a clean CSA profile, the right radius class, and honest commodity descriptions make to your premium.
Claims Advocacy
When a claim hits, we work the file on your side — because how a claim resolves this year is what your renewal costs next year.
New Authority Friendly
First-year premiums are the steepest in trucking. Our new authority programs are built to get you rolling — and to step your rate down as you build history.
Cost Questions, Answered
Trucking Expense FAQ
How much does it cost to run a truck per mile in 2026?
According to ATRI's 2026 Operational Costs of Trucking report, the average marginal cost reached a record $2.336 per mile ($106.69 per hour) in 2025, up 3.4 percent year over year. Excluding fuel, costs rose 4.2 percent to $1.854 per mile — and Q1 2026 data shows costs still climbing, led by insurance (+6.4%) and fuel (+5.9%).
How do I calculate my trucking cost per mile?
Add up every operating expense for a period — fuel, truck and trailer payments, repair and maintenance, insurance, permits, tires, tolls, driver wages, and benefits — and divide by total miles run in the same period. The calculator above does the math and benchmarks each line against carriers in your sector and region.
What is the biggest expense in trucking?
Driver compensation. Wages ($0.818/mile) plus benefits ($0.210/mile) totaled $1.028 per mile in 2025 — the first year combined driver pay averaged above a dollar per mile, and about 44 percent of total operating cost. Fuel ($0.482) and equipment payments ($0.404) round out the top three.
Why does cost per mile matter when bidding freight?
It's your break-even rate — any load priced below it loses money before overhead. And because roughly 16.5 percent of industry miles run empty, your loaded miles have to carry your empty ones: divide your cost per mile by (1 − your deadhead percentage) to get your true minimum rate per loaded mile.
How much is truck insurance per mile?
Industry-wide, liability and cargo premiums averaged $0.106 per mile in 2025 — but fleets with fewer than five trucks averaged $0.159, roughly 50 percent above average. Insurance was the fastest-rising cost line in Q1 2026 at +6.4 percent. See our full breakdown of commercial truck insurance costs, or get a quote across 30+ A-rated markets.
Which region has the highest trucking costs?
The Northeast, at $2.516 per mile — the nation's highest driver wages, benefits, repair costs, insurance, and tolls (at $0.079/mile, tolls run nearly double the national average). The South Central is cheapest at $2.229. The West saw 2025's largest increase, up 26.5 cents per mile.
Is this calculator based on real industry data?
Yes. Every benchmark comes from the American Transportation Research Institute's Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking: 2026 Update — the industry's leading public cost study, built on confidential financial data submitted directly by for-hire motor carriers and corroborated against EIA, BLS, ATA, and other federal and industry sources. Benchmarks reflect the 2025 operating year.
Now See Your Real Insurance Number
You know your cost per mile. In a few minutes, a Marquee specialist can tell you whether your insurance line should be lower — with real quotes from 30+ A-rated trucking markets.
Source: Leslie, A. & Murray, D., An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking: 2026 Update, American Transportation Research Institute, July 2026 (data year 2025). Benchmark figures are industry averages; your costs will vary with equipment, lanes, and operation type.
This calculator is provided for informational and benchmarking purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or insurance advice. Insurance coverages, premiums, and availability vary by location, policy, and individual business. Contact a licensed Marquee Insurance Group representative for guidance specific to your operation.