Where the real
numbers come from.
Every figure in this industry gets repeated third-hand until nobody knows its source. These are the primary datasets — what each one actually contains, how often it changes, and what it is good for.
Last reviewed
Fuel
Fuel is usually the largest variable cost in the business, so it is worth pricing from the primary source rather than from memory.
Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update
Weekly, Mondays
U.S. Energy Information Administration
The national and regional average on-highway diesel price, published weekly. This is the series most fuel surcharge schedules are indexed against.
Use it for: Use it as the diesel price input in a cost-per-mile or fuel-surcharge calculation, and to check whether a broker's surcharge is tracking the index or lagging it.
Tax
Thresholds and rates change annually. Anything that quotes a fixed figure — including our own calculators — should be checked against the current published number.
Self-employment tax
Rates stable, guidance updated annually
Internal Revenue Service
The statutory basis for self-employment tax: 15.3% on 92.35% of net earnings, split into Social Security and Medicare portions.
Use it for: The formula behind our quarterly tax estimator. The rate is stable; the wage base cap is not.
Contribution and Benefit Base
Annually, each October
Social Security Administration
The annual Social Security wage base — the earnings ceiling above which the 12.4% Social Security portion no longer applies.
Use it for: This is the figure to enter in the wage-base field of our quarterly tax calculator. It changes every year, which is why we made it an input rather than hard-coding it.
Form 2290 — Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax
Tax year begins 1 July
Internal Revenue Service
The annual federal tax on vehicles at or above 55,000 pounds gross weight, and the stamped proof of payment required to register.
Use it for: Amortise the annual figure across expected miles so it appears in cost per mile instead of ambushing one month's numbers.
Fuel tax and permits
Interstate operation means quarterly reconciliation across jurisdictions, and the rates differ by state and by quarter.
IFTA tax rate matrix
Quarterly
IFTA, Inc.
The official quarterly fuel tax rate table for every IFTA member jurisdiction, plus the governing documents.
Use it for: The authoritative source for quarterly IFTA rates. Do not rely on a third-party summary for a filing.
Operations and benchmarks
Useful for checking your own operation against the wider picture, and for verifying who you are hauling for.
SAFER Company Snapshot
Continuously updated
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
The public record for any USDOT-registered carrier: authority status, insurance on file, fleet size, safety rating and inspection history.
Use it for: Verify a carrier's authority and insurance before working with them, and check your own record is accurate.
FMCSA
Ongoing
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Operating authority, hours-of-service rules, ELD requirements and the registration process.
Use it for: The primary source for compliance questions. Regulations change; secondary summaries go stale.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Published wage data for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, nationally and by state and metro area.
Use it for: Benchmark driver pay when hiring, and sanity-check the driver-pay line in a cost-per-mile calculation.
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Varies by series
U.S. Department of Transportation
Freight volumes, commodity flows, border crossings and transport economic indicators.
Use it for: Useful for lane and market context rather than day-to-day operating decisions.
Highway Policy Information
Monthly and annual series
Federal Highway Administration
Travel volume trends, vehicle miles travelled and state highway statistics.
Use it for: Background on corridor volumes and seasonal travel patterns.
Questions
- Where can I find the current average diesel price?
- The U.S. Energy Information Administration publishes the national and regional average on-highway diesel price weekly, on Mondays. It is the series most fuel surcharge schedules are indexed against, and it is free to access.
- What is the current Social Security wage base?
- The Social Security Administration publishes it annually, each October, on its Contribution and Benefit Base page. It is the earnings ceiling above which the 12.4% Social Security portion of self-employment tax stops applying. Because it changes every year, our quarterly tax calculator takes it as an input rather than hard-coding a figure that would go stale.
- How do I check whether a carrier's authority and insurance are active?
- The FMCSA SAFER Company Snapshot is the public record. Enter a USDOT or MC number and it returns authority status, insurance on file, fleet size, safety rating and inspection history.
- Why does fleetchart not publish its own industry statistics?
- Because we have not measured any in a way we would be willing to defend. Rather than quote figures we cannot source, we point carriers at the primary datasets and build tools that run on their own numbers.
Links point to primary sources rather than to summaries of them. Agency URLs and publication schedules occasionally change; if one is broken, tell us at sales@fleetchart.ai and we will fix it. Nothing here is tax or legal advice.
Put your own numbers through them.
Our calculators take these figures as inputs, so you can work from the current published data rather than a number somebody quoted at a truck stop.
Working out a specific figure? The quarterly tax estimator uses the SSA wage base and the IRS self-employment formula directly.