Fixed costs
Fixed costs are the expenses a trucking business incurs whether or not the truck moves, such as the truck payment, insurance, permits, authority fees and software subscriptions.
Last reviewed · by the Fleetchart team
Fixed costs are dangerous precisely because they are predictable: they are easy to forget in a per-load calculation and they accrue during downtime, breakdowns and home time.
Converting them to a per-mile figure requires an honest estimate of annual miles. Using an optimistic mileage figure understates cost per mile and makes marginal loads look acceptable.
A week off the road does not reduce them, which is why utilization matters as much as rate.
For example, say your fixed costs are $8,000 a month: truck payment, insurance, permits, software and your own pay. Run 10,000 miles that month and they cost $8,000 ÷ 10,000 = $0.80 a mile. Run 8,000 miles and they cost $8,000 ÷ 8,000 = $1.00 a mile. Same bills, but every mile now has to earn 20 cents more just to cover them.
That is why a week of downtime hurts so much. The fuel bill drops, but the truck note and insurance still come out on the same day. Knowing your fixed costs per month tells you how many miles the truck needs before it starts to make money.