A rate per kilometer isn’t enough. How can you figure out if a trip is really worth it?
Is the shipment profitable? The rate per kilometer alone won’t answer that question. The carrier should calculate the full cost of fulfilling the order: fuel, tolls, the driver, the vehicle, maintenance, tires, insurance, empty kilometers, and financing costs. Only then will it be clear how much profit is actually left from the freight.
This is especially important now that transportation costs are rising faster than profit margins.
According to the 2026 TSL Industry Financial Index, prepared by Transcash.eu, as many as 93 percent of carriers cited fuel as the fastest-rising cost. At the same time, more than half of carriers experienced a decline in financial liquidity, and nearly 46 percent rate the profitability of international transport as low or very low. Interestingly, half of the carriers noted an increase in freight rates in 2026.
This leads to a simple conclusion:
a higher freight rate does not necessarily mean higher profitability.
How do you calculate shipping costs?
The easiest way is to start by breaking down all the costs associated with a specific shipment.
The basic formula is as follows:
Transportation cost = travel costs + vehicle costs + driver costs + fixed costs + financing costs + risk costs
Only then do we subtract this amount from the freight revenue to determine the actual margin.
It sounds simple. The problem arises when we include only fuel and tolls in the calculation.
1. Fuel—the biggest expense, but not the only one
If the truck travels 2,000 km, consumes an average of 28 liters per 100 km, and a liter of fuel costs 6 zł, the fuel cost alone will be approximately 3,360 zł.
But the price of fuel is not constant.
Therefore, when pricing a job, it’s a good idea to make an assumption about the fuel price and update the calculation regularly. Under current market conditions, this is particularly important—fuel was cited by 93 percent of carriers as the fastest-rising cost.
2. Tolls – a cost that cannot be estimated “by eye”
The same distance can have a completely different cost depending on the country, road category, vehicle specifications, or emissions class.
Therefore, when calculating transportation costs, it’s best to calculate the actual route rather than using a single average rate per kilometer.
2,000 km does not always cost the same as 2,000 km
3. A driver incurs costs even when the truck isn’t moving
A driver’s pay must be allocated to the total duration of the assignment, not just to the kilometers driven.
Therefore, the calculation may include, among other things:
- wages,
- employer contributions and costs,
- per diems and other payments,
- waiting time,
- and stops resulting from the organization of the transport.
This is particularly important for routes involving long loading and unloading times.
4. Trucks also have their own cost per kilometer
A lease or financing payment is only part of the vehicle’s cost.
For a complete calculation, you must also take into account:
- depreciation or financing of the vehicle,
- maintenance,
- repairs,
- tires,
- insurance,
- inspections,
- equipment, and other operating costs.
Only the sum of these expenses shows how much it really costs to drive a kilometer.jechanie kilometra.
The most common mistake: counting only paid kilometers
Let’s assume that a carrier is paid 2,500 euros for a 2,000-km route.
At first glance, this looks good:
2,500 € / 2,000 km = 1.25 €/km
But what if, after unloading, the truck has to drive 300 km empty?
Then the actual mileage becomes 2,300 km.
The rate per kilometer drops to:
€2,500 / 2,300 km = €1.09/km
And that’s exactly why the question:
“How much will I get per kilometer?”
should be replaced with the question:
“How much will I have left from this job after covering all costs?”
These are two completely different calculations.
An empty kilometer costs money, too
Empty runs don’t generate revenue, but they still incur costs:
- fuel,
- tolls,
- driver labor,
- vehicle maintenance,
- financing,
- and time.
Therefore, when evaluating a job, it’s worth looking not only at the rate per kilometer with a load, but also at the rate for the vehicle’s total actual mileage.
This is one of the simplest ways to avoid revenuewania zleceń, które wyglądają dobrze w systemie, ale tracą rentowność po uwzględnieniu powrotu.
Profitability is not the same as liquidity
There’s one more thing that’s easy to overlook.
It’s possible to complete a profitable job and still face cash flow problems.
Why?
Because costs arise before payment for the freight is received.
First, the carrier covers the costs of:
fuel → tolls → the driver → operations → other expenses
and only later receives payment from the client.
According to the 2026 TSL Industry Financial Index, more than half of the carriers surveyed experienced a deterioration in liquidity, compared to 36 percent the previous year.
That’s why, when calculating a job, it’s worth asking yourself one more question:
How much will it cost me to finance this shipment until the day I receive payment?
Faster access to payment for completed shipments
It is precisely in the area of financial liquidity that the expertise of Express Heroes and Transcash converges. The collaboration between the two companies gives carriers the ability to receive payment more quickly for transportation services already rendered, without having to wait for the customer’s standard payment terms. This is particularly important when a company needs to cover ongoing expenses such as fuel, tolls, driver salaries, or new orders. A faster cash flow means greater control over liquidity and the ability to manage subsequent shipments more efficiently.
A minimum rate per kilometer? There’s no single answer.
A question often comes up in the industry:
“What is the minimum profitable rate per kilometer?”
There is no single, universal figure.
The minimum rate depends, among other things, on:
- the type of vehicle,
- fuel economy,
- the price of fuel,
- toll costs,
- the driver’s salary,
- vehicle financing,
- the number of billable kilometers,
- empty runs,
- transit time,
- maintenance and tire costs,
- payment terms,
- and the expected margin.
Therefore, a carrier should first and foremost know its own cost per kilometer.Only then can they make an informed judgment about whether a particular offer is a good one.
A Simple Order Calculation Model
Before accepting a shipment, it’s a good idea to go through a short checklist:
1. How much revenue will this shipment generate?
2. How many kilometers will I drive in total—including empty runs?
3. How much fuel will I use?
4. How much will the tolls cost?
5. What is the total cost of the driver’s labor?
6. What portion of the vehicle’s cost applies to this shipment?
7. How much do maintenance, tires, and insurance cost per kilometer?
8. How long will it take to complete the job?
9. When will I get paid?
10. How much will be left after deducting all costs?
If we don’t know the answer to the last question, we also don’t know the actual profitability of the job.
The market forces companies to calculate costs more accurately
Data from the Finansowego Indeksu Branży TSL 2026 show why this topic is so important today.
On the one hand, 50 percent of carriers have noticed an increase in freight rates. On the other hand, costs are rising, cash flow is deteriorating, and nearly 46 percent of carriers rate the profitability of their international operations as low or very low.
This means that under current conditions, it is no longer enough to know how much the customer is paying.
You need to know:
how much it costs to fulfill an order, how much time it ties up the vehicle and driver, and how much money will actually remain after it is completed.
Because in transportation, the most expensive order may not be the one with the lowest rate.
The most expensive job is the one that looks profitable but, after completion, turns out to have earned us significantly less than we anticipated.
Summary
How do you determine if a shipment is profitable?
It’s not enough to simply divide the freight cost by the number of kilometers. You need to calculate the total cost of transport—fuel, tolls, driver, vehicle, maintenance, tires, insurance, empty kilometers, and financing costs.
Only the revenue minus the total cost of the shipment reveals the actual margin.
In times of rising costs, such a calculation is no longer just an add-on to managing a transportation company. It becomes one of the fundamental tools for decision-making:
which order to accept, which to negotiate, and which to reject.
A good rate isn’t one that looks good on a quote. A good rate is one that leaves a margin after the entire shipment has been paid for.








