# Rate Per Mile Is Misleading: Why the Best-Paying Loads Have the Worst RPM

Source: https://truxx.ai/blog/rate-per-mile-misleading
Published: 2026-07-17 · Category: Insights · 7 min read

> On the Truxx.AI network, a box truck load at $6.03 per mile pays $717. One at $2.16 per mile pays $2,372. Rate per mile falls as hauls get longer while revenue per load rises — so sorting a load board by RPM selects your lowest-paying freight. What 52,000 booked loads reveal about how freight is priced.

## Key findings

- Rate per mile falls as haul length rises, on every equipment type measured.
- Revenue per load rises as haul length rises.
- Therefore the loads with the highest rate per mile pay the least total money.
- Sorting a load board by rate per mile selects the lowest-revenue freight.
- A rate per mile is only comparable to another rate per mile at a similar haul length.

> On the Truxx.AI network, box truck rate per mile falls from $6.03/mi on under 150 mi lanes to $2.16/mi on 800+ mi lanes, while average revenue per load rises from $717 to $2,372. The loads with the highest rate per mile pay the least total money.

## The data

### Box Truck — rate per mile by lane length (2025-Q3–2026-Q2)

| Lane length | Loads | Avg RPM (mileage-weighted) | Avg revenue per load |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Under 150 mi | 2,185 | $6.03/mi | $717 |
| 150–300 mi | 3,211 | $4.16/mi | $860 |
| 300–500 mi | 611 | $3.03/mi | $1,094 |
| 500–800 mi | 171 | $2.36/mi | $1,408 |
| 800+ mi | 105 | $2.16/mi | $2,372 |

### Sprinter — rate per mile by lane length (2025-Q3–2026-Q2)

| Lane length | Loads | Avg RPM (mileage-weighted) | Avg revenue per load |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Under 150 mi | 183 | $2.56/mi | $333 |
| 150–300 mi | 794 | $1.82/mi | $409 |
| 300–500 mi | 113 | $1.36/mi | $542 |
| 500–800 mi | 25 | $1.10/mi | $758 |
| 800+ mi | 229 | $0.93/mi | $1,308 |

Sprinters show the same shape at completely different absolute levels: $2.56/mi down to $0.93/mi, with revenue per load climbing from $333 to $1,308. The pattern also holds for dry van and cargo van — every equipment type with enough published lanes to test.

## Why this happens

Every load carries fixed costs that are independent of distance — loading, unloading, paperwork, detention, and the deadhead to the pickup. Those costs are amortized over 100 miles on a short run and over 800 miles on a long one, so short loads must price higher per mile. A high rate per mile is usually a signal that a load is short, not that it is well paid.

## Implications for carriers

- Rate per mile is meaningful only against your own cost per mile on comparable lanes.
- Compare per-mile rates within a haul-length band; $4.00/mi is strong at 400 miles and poor at 40.
- Revenue per day is the operative metric, then revenue per load, then revenue per mile.
- This is why the Truxx.AI index headlines a mileage-weighted average (total revenue ÷ total loaded miles) rather than a per-load median. Box truck's per-load median is higher than its mileage-weighted average because short, high-per-mile runs each count once in a median, while mileage weighting lets long hauls dominate the denominator.

## Methodology

Figures are computed from booked loads on the Truxx.AI dispatch network: status delivered, US origin and destination, at least 25 loaded miles, and rate per mile between $0.50 and $30 to exclude micro-moves and data-entry errors. Only closed quarters are published, and a published quarter is immutable. Lane-level cuts aggregate a trailing four-quarter window so thin slices stay credible. Full methodology: https://truxx.ai/insights/methodology

Attribution: free to cite and quote with attribution and a link back to the source page. Aggregate network data © Truxx.AI. Informational only; not a forecast, offer, or guarantee.

Full article with interactive tables: https://truxx.ai/blog/rate-per-mile-misleading

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Published by Truxx.AI, an AI-powered trucking dispatch platform. https://truxx.ai/