Hot Shot Rate Calculator

How to read the result

• All-in pay is the linehaul plus the accessorials written on the rate confirmation. Don't count detention or TONU you haven't been promised in writing.
• Rate per loaded mile is how brokers talk about loads. Useful for comparing with posted rates.
• Rate per total mile is the number that matters to you: what the load pays for every mile your truck runs to do it, including the drive to pickup.
• Your minimum per total mile comes from your costs and profit target, with percentage fees divided out.
• Above or below your minimum shows how much money a load leaves on the table, or what you'd have to counter to make it work.

How it's calculated

• All-in pay = linehaul + accessorials
• Total miles = loaded miles + empty miles
• Rate per loaded mile = all-in pay ÷ loaded miles
• Rate per total mile = all-in pay ÷ total miles
• Minimum per total mile = (cost per mile + profit per mile) ÷ (1 − fee percentage)
• Minimum pay for this load = minimum per total mile × total miles

The fee is divided out rather than added on because a percentage fee is taken from gross. With the default 7% fee, adding 7% to $1.57 gives $1.68, which leaves you a little short; dividing by 0.93 gives $1.69, which is correct.

Assumptions

• Cost per mile is your total monthly costs divided by your total monthly miles, loaded and empty. Fixed costs (payments, insurance) per mile rise in slow months, so recheck it when your miles change. Fuel per mile is your diesel price divided by your average mpg; the EIA publishes weekly prices by region.
• Profit per mile is your choice. It should cover what you need to live on and to save for repairs and slow weeks.
• Percentage fees are anything taken from your gross: dispatch, factoring, some load board or app fees.
• The defaults are EXAMPLE numbers, not market rates.

How to use it before you accept a load

1. Enter the posted pay and the loaded miles from the posting.
2. Enter the empty miles from where you'll be to the pickup.
3. Check rate per total mile against your minimum.
4. If it's under, the "minimum pay for this load" is your counter. Ask the broker for it, with a reason: the empty miles, the timing, the weight.
5. Copy the result link if you want to compare it with the next load you're offered.

What these rates turn into at the end of a month is covered in how much hotshot drivers make. If you'd rather have someone else make those counters on every load, that's what hotshot dispatch with our desk does.