🍁 Revenue (CAD)
The base rate the load pays, before surcharges.
FSC paid on this load, if any.
Detention, tarping, layover, stop-offs, etc.
🍁 Costs (CAD)
Your actual diesel cost for the load (litres × your $/L).
What you or your driver are paid to run it.
Maintenance, tires, and other per-km costs (not fuel).
Share of truck/insurance/permits this load uses. Leave 0 for cash-only view.
Tolls, scales, lumpers, border, or other load-specific costs.
🛣️ Distance
All km for the load, loaded and empty.
Paid km — enables profit per loaded km and deadhead %.
Net Profit on This Load
—CAD
total revenue minus every cost you entered
Profit Margin
—
net profit as a share of total revenue
Total Revenue
—
Total Cost
—
Revenue / KM
—
Cost / KM
—
Profit / Total KM
—
Profit / Loaded KM
—
Deadhead %
—
Break-Even Rate / KM
—
For information only — not financial, tax, legal, or business advice. QuicklyFig does not provide or verify fuel prices, fuel tax, carbon levy, excise tax, GST/HST, IFTA, or provincial compliance rates. Enter your own actual costs, including any tax or levy you track separately. Confirm tax and fuel treatment with your carrier, broker, accountant, or qualified advisor.
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Want your break-even floor first? Use the Canadian Owner-Operator Break-Even Rate Calculator to find the minimum rate per loaded km before a load loses money.
Need your full cost per km? Use the Canadian Owner-Operator Cost Per KM Calculator to build up fixed, fuel, and maintenance costs.
Pricing a fuel surcharge? Use the Canadian Fuel Surcharge Calculator to set the FSC you enter above.
Need your full cost per km? Use the Canadian Owner-Operator Cost Per KM Calculator to build up fixed, fuel, and maintenance costs.
Pricing a fuel surcharge? Use the Canadian Fuel Surcharge Calculator to set the FSC you enter above.
How load profitability is calculated
Every load is a small business decision: it earns revenue and it consumes costs. This calculator adds up the three ways a load pays you — linehaul, fuel surcharge, and accessorials — then subtracts everything it costs you to run: fuel, driver or owner pay, per-kilometre maintenance, the share of your fixed costs the load uses, and any tolls, permits, or lumper fees. What is left is your net profit in CAD.
Because a rate is only paid on loaded kilometres but costs accrue on every kilometre, the tool also shows profit per total km and profit per loaded km so deadhead does not hide a thin load. Your break-even rate per km is the rate at which this load would net exactly zero.
| Figure | Formula |
|---|---|
| Total revenue | linehaul + fuel surcharge + accessorial revenue |
| Total cost | fuel + driver/owner pay + (variable $/km × total km) + allocated fixed + tolls/other |
| Net profit | total revenue − total cost |
| Profit margin | net profit ÷ total revenue × 100 |
| Revenue / cost / profit per km | each ÷ total kilometres |
| Profit per loaded km | net profit ÷ loaded kilometres |
| Deadhead % | (total km − loaded km) ÷ total km × 100 |
| Break-even rate per km | total cost ÷ total kilometres |
Run the same load with and without your allocated fixed costs to see the gap between its cash contribution and its true fully-loaded profit. A load that clears cash but not overhead is only worth taking when it keeps you moving toward a better-paying lane.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if a freight load is profitable?
A load is profitable when the total revenue it pays — linehaul plus fuel surcharge plus any accessorials — is greater than every cost of running it: fuel, driver or owner pay, per-kilometre maintenance, the share of your fixed costs the load uses up, and tolls or permits. This calculator subtracts your total cost from your total revenue to show net profit in CAD and your profit margin, so you can see at a glance whether the load makes or loses money before you accept it.
How is load profitability calculated in this tool?
Total revenue = linehaul + fuel surcharge + accessorial revenue. Total cost = fuel + driver/owner pay + (variable cost per km × total kilometres) + allocated fixed costs + tolls/permits/other. Net profit = total revenue − total cost, and profit margin = net profit ÷ total revenue. The tool also divides by your kilometres to show revenue, cost, and profit per km, profit per loaded km, and your break-even rate per km. Every figure comes from the numbers you enter — nothing is hardcoded.
What is the difference between profit per km and profit per loaded km?
Profit per km spreads your net profit across every kilometre you drive on the load, loaded and empty. Profit per loaded km spreads the same net profit across only the paid, loaded kilometres. Because deadhead (empty) kilometres earn nothing, your profit per loaded km is the more honest figure when you compare loads with different amounts of empty running. The tool shows both, plus your deadhead percentage.
Does this calculator use CRA, IFTA, fuel tax, or carbon rates?
No. The tool uses only the dollar figures you enter and does not apply CRA allowance rates, IFTA fuel tax, the federal fuel charge or carbon pricing, GST/HST, or any provincial compliance figures. Enter your own actual fuel cost and any tax or levy you track as part of your costs. It is a planning and load-acceptance estimate only — confirm tax and fuel treatment with your carrier, broker, accountant, or qualified advisor.
Should I include my fixed costs on a single load?
Yes, if you want a true picture. Fixed costs — truck or lease payment, insurance, permits, ELD, benefits — are paid whether or not you take a given load, so allocate the share that this load's time or kilometres represent in the Allocated Fixed Costs field. If you only want the load's marginal cash contribution, you can leave fixed costs at zero, but remember a load that looks profitable on cash alone may still not cover its share of your monthly overhead.
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