# Semi / Dry Van Cost Per Mile: $1.15–$1.85/mi Breakdown (2026)

Source: https://truxx.ai/tools/cost-per-mile-calculator/semi

> Semi truck operating cost per mile averages $1.15–$1.85 in 2026 for owner-operators with their own authority running dry van or reefer freight, centering near $1.40. That splits into about $0.73–$1.17/mile in variable costs (fuel at 7 mpg, maintenance, tires) and $0.42–$0.68/mile in fixed costs (truck payment, insurance, ELD, permits) at 8,000 monthly miles. The American Transportation Research Institute puts industry marginal cost at $2.336/mile for 2025 — but that figure includes driver wages ($0.818) and benefits ($0.210). Strip those out, because an owner-operator's pay is not an operating cost, and ATRI's own number becomes $1.308/mile, or about $1.43 repriced to 2026 diesel. Figures here are per total mile driven, including deadhead.

## At a glance

| Metric | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Total operating CPM | $1.15–$1.85/mi |
| Variable costs | $0.73–$1.17/mi |
| Fixed costs | $0.42–$0.68/mi |
| Typical monthly miles | 8,000 |
| Typical fuel efficiency | 7 mpg |
| Typical fuel price | $4.61/gal |
| GVWR range | 26,001 - 80,000 lbs |

## Variable costs ($0.73–$1.17/mi)

- **Fuel** — $0.49–$0.82/mi. 6.3–7.5 mpg at retail diesel $3.70–$5.15/gal (EIA, 2026). Fleet fuel-card discounts of $0.30–$0.60/gal explain why fleet-reported figures look better.
- **Maintenance & repair** — $0.15–$0.25/mi. ATRI reports $0.215/mi excluding tires for 2025, up 8.6% year over year. ATBS client books average $0.15 including tires.
- **Tires** — $0.04–$0.06/mi. ATRI 2025: $0.050/mi across eighteen tires on a tractor-trailer.

## Fixed costs ($0.42–$0.68/mi)

- **Insurance** — $750–$1,850/mo. Own authority full package runs $9k–$17k/year; a new authority pays $12k–$18k. FMCSA's statutory minimum is $750k primary liability.
- **Truck & trailer payment** — $1,500–$3,200/mo. Used sleeper $60–80k, new $170k, used dry van trailer $18–28k. Note that roughly a third of owner-operators carry no payment at all.
- **Permits, parking, admin** — $365–$1,385/mo. HVUT $550/yr, IRP 48-state $1,500–$3,000/yr, UCR $46/yr, IFTA, ELD, drug consortium, plus parking and bookkeeping. Class 8 is the only class of the four that owes IRP, IFTA and HVUT.

## How to calculate your semi truck cost per mile

1. **Add up monthly fixed costs.** Sum truck and trailer payments, insurance, ELD, IFTA, MC authority, parking, and accountant or factoring fees.
2. **Calculate variable cost per mile.** Fuel cost per mile = diesel price ÷ MPG (typically 6.3–7.5 mpg at retail). Add maintenance ($0.15–$0.25/mi) and tires ($0.04–$0.06/mi).
3. **Divide fixed costs by miles driven.** Total monthly fixed cost ÷ total monthly miles. At 8,000 miles/month, expect $0.42–$0.68 in fixed cost per mile.
4. **Add variable + fixed for operating CPM.** Operating CPM = variable + fixed. Add desired weekly take-home divided by weekly miles to get your minimum acceptable rate per mile.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the average cost per mile for a semi truck?

Semi truck operating cost per mile averages $1.15–$1.85 in 2026 with your own authority, centering near $1.40. Variable costs run $0.73–$1.17/mile and fixed costs $0.42–$0.68/mile at 8,000 monthly miles. This excludes the owner's own pay. ATRI's widely quoted $2.336/mile for 2025 is not comparable, because it includes $1.03/mile of driver wages and benefits.

### Why is your semi CPM lower than ATRI's $2.34 per mile?

Because ATRI's figure pays a driver and ours does not. ATRI's 2025 marginal cost of $2.336/mile includes driver wages of $0.818 and benefits of $0.210. An owner-operator calculator has to treat your pay separately, or it gets counted twice — once inside the cost and once again as the income you are trying to earn. Removing driver compensation leaves $1.308/mile on 2025 fuel, about $1.43 repriced to 2026 diesel, which lines up with our bottom-up figure of $1.40 within about 2%.

### What is a good break-even rate for semi truck loads?

Operating cost is $1.15–$1.85 per total mile before your pay. At $5,000/month over 8,000 total miles, add about $0.63/mile, putting break-even near $1.78–$2.48 per total mile — roughly $2.14–$2.99 per loaded mile at 17% deadhead. Dry van spot averaged about $2.41 per loaded mile in early 2026, so the upper half of that cost range does not clear on spot freight.

### What is the biggest expense for a semi truck owner-operator?

Fuel is the single largest line at $0.49–$0.82/mile. Truck payment plus insurance is the largest fixed block, typically $2,250–$5,050/month combined. Note that ATRI's fixed-cost lines are fleet-negotiated — a single-truck operator with own authority typically pays 1.3–2.2× ATRI's insurance rate.

### How do I lower my semi truck cost per mile?

Three highest-impact moves: (1) cut deadhead — the industry ran 16.7% empty in 2024 and every point costs you directly, (2) raise monthly miles to spread fixed cost, since utilization is the single biggest lever, (3) hold 7+ mpg through cruise discipline, aerodynamics and tire pressure. Running leased-on instead of under your own authority cuts roughly $0.12/mile, mostly insurance and permits the carrier absorbs.

### How does semi truck CPM compare to a box truck?

Semis run $1.15–$1.85/mile vs $0.80–$1.40 for a 26 ft box truck. Semis cost more per mile but earn meaningfully more revenue per mile because they haul roughly 3× the freight volume per load. The box truck's advantage is regulatory: below 26,001 lbs it owes no IFTA, IRP, HVUT or CDL.

## Related calculators

- [Cargo Van CPM](https://truxx.ai/tools/cost-per-mile-calculator/cargo-van)
- [Sprinter Van CPM](https://truxx.ai/tools/cost-per-mile-calculator/sprinter)
- [Box Truck CPM](https://truxx.ai/tools/cost-per-mile-calculator/box-truck)
- [Semi Truck CPM](https://truxx.ai/tools/cost-per-mile-calculator/semi)
- [W-2 vs 1099 Trucking Comparator](https://truxx.ai/tools/w2-vs-1099-trucking)

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This page is published by Truxx.AI, an AI-powered trucking dispatch platform. Free interactive calculator at https://truxx.ai/tools/cost-per-mile-calculator/semi.