Trucking Terms Glossary

Cost terms: what does it cost to roll?

Cost per mile (CPM). Total operating cost divided by miles run: fixed spread over miles plus fuel (price divided by MPG), maintenance, tires, tolls, plus driver pay. Solo dry van runs $2.10 to $2.80 all-in at October 2026 diesel. Full primer: what is cost per mile.

Fixed costs. Costs that hit whether the truck moves or not: payment, insurance, plates, parking, ELD. Typically $4,000 to $4,500 a month solo, or $0.40 to $0.45 per mile at 10,000 miles.

Variable costs. Costs that scale with miles: fuel, maintenance ($0.12 to $0.18), tires ($0.05 to $0.08), tolls. Fuel dominates at $6.20 diesel, near $0.95 per mile at 6.5 MPG.

All-in versus truck-only CPM. Truck-only covers the equipment ($1.62 in the site worked example). All-in adds owner pay ($0.60), totaling $2.22. Quote freight off all-in, never truck-only. See pay per mile.

Break-even rate. The all-miles rate where a load covers exactly its cost: total cost divided by all miles. Anything above is margin; anything below is a loss. Computed per load in the load profit calculator.

Loaded-mile cost. All-miles cost divided by (1 minus deadhead fraction). At $2.22 with 15 percent deadhead, loaded miles must earn $2.61. Quote off this number.

Mile terms: which miles count?

Deadhead. Empty miles for $0 revenue. Under 10 to 12 percent is strong, near 15 percent average, over 20 percent means the lane or planning needs work. Playbook: cut deadhead.

Bobtail. Tractor without trailer, usually repositioning or heading home. Burns fuel and hours for no revenue; log it as deadhead in your math.

Loaded miles versus all miles. Loaded miles earn; all miles cost. Rate per mile quoted on loaded miles always looks higher. Convert with the rate per mile calculator before comparing offers.

Ton-mile. One ton moved one mile. Rare in truckload pricing but common in freight statistics and emissions math. A 20-ton load over 500 miles is 10,000 ton-miles.

Practical versus short miles. Paid miles by the broker routing guide versus actual hub miles. A 5 to 8 percent shortfall is common; price the gap or negotiate practical-miles pay.

Out-of-route miles. Miles off the dispatched route (fuel stops, detours, food). Unpaid unless the rate con covers them, and they dilute the real rate fast.

Pay terms: what lands in your pocket?

Linehaul. Base pay for moving the load, before surcharge and accessorials. Compare linehaul per loaded mile against your loaded-mile cost.

Fuel surcharge (FSC). (Current price minus baseline) divided by contract MPG. At ($6.20 minus $2.50) divided by 6.0, the surcharge is $0.62 per mile, or $524 on 850 loaded miles. Billed as its own line. Tool: fuel surcharge calculator.

Detention. Waiting pay, about $50 per hour after 2 free hours in 2026. Four unpaid hours can drag a $2.40 load near $1.85 of real effort. Guide: detention and layover.

Layover. Overnight delay pay, $150 to $250 per day. Trigger and approver must be on the rate con before the load.

TONU (truck ordered not used). Cancellation pay, $100 to $200, when a load cancels after dispatch or refuses at the dock.

Lumper. Third-party unloading fee, reimbursed at cost with receipt when pre-approved. Confirm payer before the dock, not after.

Stop pay. $50 to $75 per extra pickup or drop past the first. Multi-stop loads without stop pay are usually cheap freight in disguise.

Factoring fee. 2 to 4 percent of invoice for fast payment from a factor. Entered as its own line in the load calculator; polices cash flow, costs margin.

Dispatch fee. 5 to 10 percent to a dispatcher. Applied to linehaul in the site calculators; worth it only when the lanes found beat the fee with margin.

Compliance terms: what keeps you legal?

IFTA. The fuel-tax agreement for interstate carriers: one quarterly return splitting tax by miles per state. Fleet MPG is total miles divided by total gallons; KY adds 10.5 cents and VA 14.3 cents per diesel gallon burned there, always owed, never credited. Tool: IFTA calculator. Walkthrough: how to file IFTA.

MC number and USDOT. Operating authority ($300 FMCSA filing) and carrier identity. Verify any carrier live in carrier lookup before you book.

BOC-3. Blanket process-agent filing, about $50 one-time, required before authority activates.

HVUT (Form 2290). Heavy vehicle use tax, $100 to $550 per year by weight; $550 at 75,000-plus lb, which covers most loaded tractors.

UCR. Unified Carrier Registration, $46 for 1 to 2 trucks in 2026. Annual, inexpensive, still a ticket if skipped.

ELD. Electronic logging device, $165 to $500 first year. Compare 2-year true cost in ELD compare and the buying guide.

By Srikanth M. · Last reviewed October 13, 2026. Figures are 2026 planning norms; verify rates, fees, and filing rules before acting. Sources: sources and methodology. Diesel: EIA weekly prices.