Adam Wingfield
5 min read
Inconsistent freight isn’t just a market trend—it’s a reality every small fleet owner has to face head-on. One week you’re running $3.20/mile on solid round trips. The next, you’re fighting for $2.10/mile spot market loads and dealing with detention that doesn’t pay. But your bills? They don’t care. Driver pay, insurance, maintenance, truck payments, and fuel all come due whether rates are up or down.
The key to surviving this market isn’t chasing perfect loads—it’s building a budget system that works even when things get volatile. This isn’t about spreadsheets you forget to update. It’s about tactical, real-world money management that gives you control week after week.
Before you even start looking at loads or lanes, you need to know what your bare minimum weekly costs are. These are the numbers that don’t change whether your truck rolls 500 miles or 2,500 miles.
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Truck payment (divide monthly payment by 4.33 to get weekly)
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Insurance (physical damage, cargo, liability, occupational)
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Trailer payment (if financed)
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ELD and tech subscriptions
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Permit and license fees (spread out over the year)
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Back office support or dispatch fees (if applicable)
Create a list and total it up. That’s your weekly baseline. Let’s say it’s $1,900. That means before fuel, tolls, or food, you owe $1,900 just to exist.
Use a whiteboard in your office or cab with that number written in red. You should see it every Monday morning.
Next, calculate your per-mile variable expenses, which fluctuate based on how much you run:
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Fuel (based on current MPG and price per gallon)
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Maintenance reserve (set aside $0.15–$0.20/mile minimum)
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Tires and repairs
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Driver pay (if not salaried)
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Tolls and scales
Track this over a 30-day rolling period to get your real average. If you’re running 2,200 miles a week and spending $2,000 on fuel and $300 on driver pay, your variable cost per mile might be close to $1.20–$1.40.
Multiply that by your target miles each week. That gives you your operating cost floor.
Instead of chasing “good paying loads,” set a minimum weekly revenue target that keeps your business above water. It’s not just about getting to $2.50/mile. It’s about generating enough revenue to cover your fixed and variable costs and put profit in your pocket.
Here’s a formula that works:
(Fixed Costs + Variable Costs + Profit Goal) = Weekly Revenue Target
If your fixed cost is $1,900 and you expect to run 2,200 miles at $1.30/mile in variable costs, that’s $2,860. Add a $1,200 profit goal. You now need $5,960 in gross revenue that week.
