A white semi truck with a dry van trailer running along a desert highway in late-afternoon light.

Know your floor before the broker calls. Stop hauling loads that lose money.

Set it up once in 10 minutes. Check every load in 20 seconds. Counter with the exact words.

It's the same math you just ran in the free calculator, kept for every load: see which ones actually lost money, and know your counter before you say yes.

  • 10 minto set it up, once
  • 20 secto check each load
  • 7broker counter scripts
  • $47one payment
Get the Rate Floor Kit for $47Google Sheets + Excel

30-day money-back guarantee. No subscription, ever.

The rate con says $2.44 a mile. Here's what you get.

  1. Line haul$2,200900 loaded miles × $2.44
  2. Factoring, 3%−$66
  3. What hits your account$2,134
  4. Miles you drove1,020900 loaded + 120 empty
$2,134 ÷ 1,020 =$2.09/mi

35¢ a mile gone before you pay for fuel.

Example load · estimate, not financial or legal advice

The load that looked good

$2.50 a mile sounds fine. So you take it.

One owner-operator on a trucking forum ran exactly that: 300 miles at $2.50 a mile, with a cost of about $1.60 a mile, before paying themselves anything. What was left: about $270 for a full day of work. And you own the truck, the insurance and the risk.

Add deadhead and factoring, like the example load, and it gets thinner.

That's how a lot of owner-operators go under. Not one disaster: a hundred loads that each lost a little. Not knowing your true cost per mile is one of the reasons most often cited when new authorities don't make it through year one.

Forum numbers: TheTruckersReport, cost-per-mile thread.

What's in the kit

Load Log

Type in rate, loaded miles, deadhead and factoring. It gives you what you really earned per mile driven, and flags every load below your floor in red. Works on your phone in Google Sheets.

LaneBroker /loaded miReal /driven miProfitVerdict
Dallas, TX to
Atlanta, GA		$2.44$2.09$122OK

The kit's example row: $2,200 line haul, 900 loaded + 120 deadhead, 3% factoring and the sample costs below.

Monthly True CPM

Enter what you actually spent this month. It calculates your real rate floor (not an industry average, yours) and shows the gap against what you're hauling for.

True cost per mile
$1.97
per mile driven

Every mile you drive under this, loaded or empty, costs you money.

Example: the kit's sample month, 10,000 miles at 2026 averages, $6,000 owner pay.

Broker Counter Scripts

Seven word-for-word scripts for the calls that cost you the most: the lowball, long deadhead, detention, TONU, layover, “that's all the shipper pays” and the silence. Say the number, give the reason, stop talking.

Script 1: the lowball

“I appreciate it, but I can't run that lane under $[counter]. If you can get there, I can have the truck at the shipper by [time].”
Give one number, not a range. A range tells them where to land: the bottom.

Rate Floor Card

A printable card for your dash with three numbers: your floor, your floor with 150 miles of deadhead, and the number you counter with. No math at the truck stop.

Rate Floor Card Sep 2026
Never go under
per mile driven
$1.97
Minimum per loaded mile
typical deadhead, after factoring
$2.54
Counter with
per loaded mile
$2.79

Say the number. Give the reason. Stop talking.

Example card from the sample month: 600 loaded + 150 deadhead, 3% factoring, $0.25 cushion.

Bonus: Load Call Checklist

The questions to ask before you say yes, in the order the call goes. A sheet in the kit and a printable page for the cab.

  • All-in rate, with fuel surcharge?
  • How far is my deadhead to the pickup?
  • Detention after how many hours, and how much?
  • TONU if it cancels after dispatch?
  • Layover pay if it doesn't load on time?
  • When does the broker pay?
  • Is all of that on the rate con?

Preview of the bonus sheet.

It can pay for itself on one load

Countering a 1,000-mile load up $0.20/mile+$200
Turning down one load that pays under your floor+$150 to $400
Rate Floor Kit−$47
After the first load you don't take blindahead

Example math, not a promise. What you save depends on your loads, your costs and how the broker answers.

30-day guarantee

Run your next loads through it. If it doesn't earn its keep, reply to your receipt within 30 days and get all $47 back. No questions, no forms. Refund policy

Rate Floor Kit

$47, one payment, instant download

  • Load LogSheets + Excel
  • Monthly True CPMSheets + Excel
  • Broker Counter Scripts7 scripts
  • Rate Floor Cardprintable
  • Bonus: Load Call Checklistsheet + print
  • Free updates to this kitincluded

Total, one payment $47

Get the Rate Floor Kit for $47Instant download after checkout

Secure checkout. Card, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay.

30-day money-back guarantee. No subscription, ever.

Questions

Do I need Excel?

No. You get a Google Sheets link (free, works on your phone) and an Excel file. Use whichever you already have.

I'm a brand-new authority. Is this for me?

Especially. The first 90 days are when a lowball load hurts the most and when you have the least history to negotiate with. Start logging from load one.

How is this different from the free calculator?

The calculator answers one question: what's my cost per mile. The kit tracks every load over time, uses your real monthly spending, and gives you the words to get paid your number.

Is it a subscription?

No. You pay $47 once and it's yours, including future updates.

Is this financial or tax advice?

No. It's a budgeting and negotiation tool, not financial, tax or legal advice. Talk to your accountant about taxes.

How do refunds work?

Within 30 days of purchase, reply to your receipt or write to hello@truckcostpermile.com and you get a full refund. Details in the terms.

Not ready? Take the 5 broker lines, free.

Five lines to answer a lowball offer without losing the load. One page, straight to your inbox.