There’s an old saying that reminds us “time is money” – whoever coined that phrase was likely talking about an owner-operator in the logistics industry whether they realized it or not.

When taking on work, it’s important to acknowledge that not all jobs are created equally. If you have two tasks ahead of you with both requiring you to drive 100 miles, one could still be profitable while the other is woefully inadequate. This is because different factors determine your owner-operator cost per mile.

Understanding what those factors are – and how to calculate that cost before you take the job – is the key to making the most profitable decisions possible when it comes to your career.

How Much Do Owner Operator Truck Drivers Make?

Owner-operator truck drivers can earn between $150,000 and $300,000 annually, depending on factors such as freight type, distance traveled, and operational efficiency. Actual earnings vary widely based on market conditions and individual business strategies, but the role offers significant income potential for those who manage their operations effectively.

Why You Should Calculate Your Cost Per Mile

One of the biggest reasons why you should always calculate your owner-operator cost per mile is because it helps you remain profitable. If you know how much you’re spending to drive one mile on an average job, you know whether your rates will actually be able to cover your expenses. Not only do you know how much of a profit you’re making, but you also have actionable information that you can use to increase those profits as much as possible.

Having said that, knowing your owner-operator cost per mile also helps to keep you competitive. You can strike that delicate balance between making as much profit as you can and making sure that your rates aren’t set so high that you have a hard time getting attention.

Beyond that, knowing your owner-operator cost per mile is all about the foresight it gives you. If you know how much you’re spending per mile, you can focus on things like route optimization, for example. You can also concern yourself with better budgeting and planning, all of which will help make sure that you’re operating as efficiently and as cost-effectively as possible. This is in comparison to owner-operators who don’t know their cost per mile, who probably end up spending a lot more than they realize on an average job.

Factors That Determine Cost Per Mile

Many new owner operators in particular make the mistake of assuming “cost per mile” and “cost for gas” are the same thing. In reality, that is just one small part of a much larger story. Other critical factors that you must track include the following.

Travel Distance

Obviously, one of the main things you’ll want to look at to determine your cost per mile is the travel distance. Believe it or not, short-haul trips usually result in a higher cost per mile because a lot of the fixed costs you’re dealing with, like insurance, are distributed over fewer miles.

Weight & Dimensions of Shipment

Heavier loads will typically be associated with a higher cost per mile because they require more fuel, more of your time, and sometimes even specialized equipment that ends up being more expensive.

Freight Classification

Freight that is of a higher freight classification tends to be bulkier, more fragile, or just more difficult to handle. This will increase the amount of time it takes to move them properly, which will ultimately raise your cost per mile as well.

How to Calculate Your Cost Per Mile

Once you know which fixed and variable factors impact cost per mile, you can begin to calculate your own. You should do this before accepting or even bidding on a job so that you know exactly how much you can expect to make from it if all goes to plan.

Determine Expected Mileage

First, look at the route you’ve laid out for yourself and determine how many miles you expect to drive. Thankfully, this is something that can be done right online these days.

Calculate Your Fixed Expenses

Next, look at all the fixed expenses that you have that will not actually change depending on the length of the trip. These still impact your cost per mile because they still need to be accounted for. This includes but is not limited to things like any truck payments or leasing costs that are still outstanding, the amount you’re paying for insurance, and even depreciation.

Determine Your Variable Costs

Next, you can take a look at all your variable costs. These will always fluctuate based on the amount of miles you’re traveling, which is why you need to re-run these numbers with every trip.

Factors that would fall into this category include fuel because you can’t control (nor can you predict it). Any maintenance or repairs that are needed for the upcoming trip in particular would also qualify. As would tolls, fees, and any driver costs (like wages for someone other than yourself) that need to be accounted for.

Include Salary Expenses

Speaking of wages, always include your own salary (or the salary of someone else) in your calculation.

Calculate Cost Per Mile

Finally, you can get down to actually calculating the cost per mile. To do this, take the total fixed costs you have and add to them the total variable costs. Take the number you arrive at and divide it by the total number of miles you’ll be driving for this trip. At that point, you have your cost per mile, and you can set bids (and make other financial-related decisions) accordingly.

Start Optimizing Your Earnings Today!

Once you learn how to calculate your cost per mile (and use that information to your advantage), you can begin to explore other techniques that optimize your earnings – like freight factoring.

Also commonly referred to as invoice factoring, freight factoring is a type of financial service that allows you to sell your invoice to a third party to get paid immediately – all to free up cash flow so that you can devote the majority of your attention to the task ahead.

Just because you know how much your cost per mile is doesn’t mean a client will necessarily pay you on time. With freight factoring, you can take care of those outstanding invoices and spend less time collecting so that you can spend more time driving – which in and of itself is the most important benefit of all.

If you’d like to find out more information about how you can easily calculate your cost per mile as an owner-operator, or if you have any additional questions that you’d like to go over with someone in a bit more detail, please don’t hesitate to contact the team at Advanced Commercial Capital today.

Whether you’re brand new as an owner-operator or if you’ve been in the shipping and logistics field for many years, you no doubt know exactly how important it is to control your costs as much as possible.

Sometimes, the money you spend in the operation of your business is beyond your control – you can’t help the expense of that unfortunate unplanned maintenance on your truck, for example. But other times, you do have options, especially when it comes to the amount you’ll pay for fuel.

There are several fuel cards that owner-operators in particular should absolutely be looking into to help maximize their income in 2025.

What are Fuel Cards?

Fuel cards, as the name implies, are a type of payment that is used to purchase fuel (along with other vehicle-related accessories from the same establishment). Although personal users can buy fuel cards, they are often used by truckers and other professionals in logistics to help pay for expenses.

Types of Fuel Cards

As a logistics professional, there are a few different types of fuel cards to choose from depending on your needs. They include but are not limited to ones like:

Cost-Plus

Here, the price that you pay for fuel is determined by A) the base cost of fuel at the station you’re at, and B) an additional fixed markup added. If prices drop, you could pay less for fuel – but prices do fluctuate based on factors like the market.

Retail-Minus

With this type of fuel card, your provider works with a network of gas stations to negotiate what is essentially a discount. The “minus” is the amount you take off whatever the posted price is at the pump – that’s the amount you pay for gas. The downside is that if gas prices are already low, the discount might not be quite as significant.

8 Fuel Cards to Consider for 2025

When it comes to fuel cards, you are certainly not without your options. Here are the ones you should consider to help maximize your spending in 2025 and beyond.

Apex Fuel Card

This is one of the more popular fuel cards out there for truckers in particular because it is accepted at gas stations across the United States. The discounts it offers are known for being very competitive, too.

DAT One Fuel Card

If you’re a business owner with a fleet looking to help simplify fuel management across the board, the DAT One Fuel Card was designed with this in mind. It offers real-time pricing data and more.

Fuelman Deep Saver

This is a type of fuel card that was designed to help small and mid-sized businesses in particular.

Comdata

Comdata provides fuel cards to not only businesses that run large fleets but owner-operators as well. It is looked at very favorably among these demographics.

ExxonMobil BusinessPro

As the name implies, this is a fuel card that is designed to offer savings at both Exxon and Mobil stations across the country. Between the two, you’ll find the coverage quite significant.

Truckers Advantage Fuel Card

This is a type of fuel card intended for not just owner-operators, but small trucking businesses as well. It’s known for being easy to maintain, which is especially useful if you’re trying to get your enterprise off the ground.

Shell Fleet Navigator

This is a type of fuel card that is designed to offer very competitive discounts at Shell stations across the country. If you happen to be based out of an area with a lot of Shell stations, it’s certainly something you’ll want to look into.

Love’s Express

If you frequently shop at Love’s Travel Stops, you’ll know that there are always gas stations attached to them. The Love’s Express is a fuel card designed to offer discounts at those gas stations in particular.

How Do Fuel Cards Help Owner Operators Save Money?

Obviously, the number one way that fuel cards help owner-operators save money is through discounts on the price of gas. Depending on the time of year and the market conditions, the right fuel card could save you hundreds of dollars every time you go to the pump.

They prove invaluable in a lot of other ways, too – especially when it comes to how you run your business.

Simple Accounting

Especially if you’re new to the trucking industry, you understand just how complicated accounting can quickly become. Fuel cards help simplify at least this aspect of accounting by allowing you to easily track the amount of money you’re spending on gas in real-time.

Enhanced Security

Rather than carry cash or use a personal credit or debit card for gas purchases, a fuel card offers sophisticated protection against unauthorized transactions. At the very least, it’s a way to help mitigate the risk of fraud or other unwanted purchases, which will come in handy as you travel the country.

Additional Discounts

Sometimes, a fuel card will offer exclusive discounts on other items that go beyond simply giving you money off the price of gas. This can be a great way to save even more as an owner-operator than you otherwise would.

We Simplify Freight Billing

At Advanced Commercial Capital, we pride ourselves on our ability to simplify freight billing for owner-operators and others in the logistics field as much as possible. We do this in a number of ways, with freight factoring being chief among them.

With freight factoring, you give us your unpaid invoices, and we’ll give you most of the balance the same day. We’ll keep a small percentage as a pee, and work on collecting the full amount from the client. That way, you can preserve your cash flow and rest easy knowing that you’re being paid for a job well done.

If you’d like to find out more information about the best fuel cards for owner-operators to watch out for in 2025, or if you have any additional questions that you’d like to go over with someone in a bit more detail, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.