The arithmetic behind a trip
The calculator works in four steps, and it helps to know them:
- Total kilometres = loaded distance + empty distance.
- Diesel = total kilometres ÷ vehicle average (km per litre) × diesel price.
- Running cost = diesel + tolls + driver bhatta + loading and unloading + other trip expenses.
- Full cost = running cost + (monthly fixed costs ÷ monthly kilometres × total kilometres).
Profit is the freight less the full cost. Break-even freight is the full cost itself. Divide either by the loaded kilometres to compare offers on different lanes.
A worked example
Press “Fill with an example” above to load these figures. They are round numbers chosen to make the sums easy to follow, not typical costs:
| Distance | 1,400 km loaded + 100 km empty = 1,500 km |
|---|---|
| Diesel | 1,500 ÷ 4 km per litre = 375 litres × ₹92 = ₹34,500 |
| Other trip expenses | Tolls ₹6,500 + bhatta ₹4,200 + loading ₹2,500 = ₹13,200 |
| Running cost | ₹34,500 + ₹13,200 = ₹47,700 |
| Fixed-cost share | ₹1,44,000 a month ÷ 8,000 km = ₹18 per km × 1,500 km = ₹27,000 |
| Full cost | ₹47,700 + ₹27,000 = ₹74,700, or ₹53.36 per loaded km |
| At a freight of ₹85,000 | Profit ₹10,300, about 12% of freight |
Notice what the 100 empty kilometres cost: ₹2,300 of diesel and ₹1,800 of fixed costs. Small empty legs add up over a month.
Reading the result
- Freight above full cost — the trip pays for itself and its share of the truck.
- Freight between running cost and full cost — the trip covers what it spends and part of the fixed costs. Acceptable for a return load; a problem if every trip looks like this.
- Freight below running cost — you pay to carry the customer’s goods.
From estimate to actuals
An estimate is made before the trip. What matters is what was actually spent. The guide on working out trip profit shows how to keep a trip sheet, and driver advance settlement covers squaring up cash with the driver. A free account keeps a trip ledger that does both.