Owner-Operator Cost Per Mile in 2026: A Real 2022 Freightliner Cascadia's Line-Item Breakdown
This is a real cost sheet, not a survey. My 2022 Freightliner Cascadia DD15 (HAWD Trucking LLC, USDOT 4436030) carries about $765 a week in fixed costs, $0.15 a mile in maintenance and tires, and $0.61 a mile in fuel at $4.578 diesel. Over a 3,000-mile week that is a base cost of about $1.02 per mile — before dispatch, factoring, IFTA, subscriptions, or a dollar of my own pay.
Most cost-per-mile articles quote a survey average. This one is a receipt. Below is every fixed and variable cost on my own 2022 Freightliner Cascadia DD15, resolved the same way any load calculator does it: fixed costs divided by the miles I run, plus per-mile variable costs, plus fuel. Figures are rounded and dated July 11, 2026; the fuel line uses the EIA weekly U.S. on-highway diesel average of $4.578 per gallon published July 6, 2026.
What are the fixed costs, and what do they cost per mile?
Fixed costs bill me whether the truck rolls or sits. To turn them into a cost per mile I convert each to a weekly figure (monthly × 12 ÷ 52, yearly ÷ 52), total them, and divide by the miles I run in a week — here, a hard 3,000-mile week run consistently.
| Fixed item | As billed | Per week | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Truck payment | $1,700 / mo | $392.31 | Financed tractor |
| Insurance | $17,000 / yr | $326.92 | Liability, cargo, physical damage |
| IRP (apportioned plates) | $1,650 / yr | $31.73 | Annual registration |
| Permits & heavy-vehicle taxes | $750 / yr | $14.42 | HVUT (2290), KYU, and similar |
| Total fixed | $765.38 / wk | ÷ 3,000 mi = $0.26/mi |
fixedCPM = weekly fixed ÷ weekly miles = $765.38 ÷ 3,000 = $0.26/mi
What are the variable and fuel costs per mile?
Variable costs accrue with the odometer, so they are already per-mile. Fuel is its own line: diesel price divided by real MPG. My Cascadia averages 7.5 MPG, so at $4.578 diesel each mile burns about 61 cents of fuel — the single largest cost on the truck.
| Per-mile item | Cost per mile | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance reserve | $0.10 | Set aside per mile for service and repairs |
| Tires | $0.05 | Casing and replacement, amortized per mile |
| Fuel | $0.61 | $4.578 ÷ 7.5 MPG |
| Total variable + fuel | $0.76 / mi |
fuelCPM = diesel ÷ MPG = $4.578 ÷ 7.5 = $0.61/mi
What is the base cost per mile — and the break-even?
Add the three parts and this truck has a base cost of about $1.02 per mile. With no dispatch or factoring fees taken off the top, that base is also the operating break-even: below $1.02 a mile, this truck loses money before anything else is counted.
| Component | Cost per mile |
|---|---|
| Fixed (truck, insurance, IRP, permits ÷ 3,000 mi) | $0.26 |
| Variable (maintenance + tires) | $0.15 |
| Fuel ($4.578 ÷ 7.5 MPG) | $0.61 |
| Base cost per mile | $1.02 |
Add fees and the floor rises by division, not addition. If I ran 3% dispatch plus 3% factoring, the break-even would be $1.0155 ÷ 0.94 = $1.08 per mile — the same gross-up covered in how do I calculate my break-even rate per mile?
What does this breakdown leave out?
Honesty is the whole point of a benchmark, so here is what the $1.02 does not include. Each of these raises a real owner-operator’s true break-even, and the largest one is my own pay:
- Dispatch and factoring or quick-pay fees (a percentage off every gross rate)
- IFTA fuel tax settlements, tolls, and lumper fees
- ELD, PrePass, load board, and phone subscriptions
- Parking, office, and accounting
- My own wage and profit — the base cost only keeps the truck running; it pays me nothing
How does this compare to the industry average?
The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) put the average marginal cost of trucking at $2.260 per mile in its 2025 report (2024 data). That number sits well above this $1.02, but the two are not measured the same way: ATRI’s figure is a fleet average that includes driver wages, benefits, and overhead this bare breakdown excludes. Read it for direction, not for the gap — the point is that a real truck’s stripped-down cost already clears a dollar a mile, and the rate you accept has to beat the full number, not the base.
Want the method rather than my numbers? Start with how to calculate cost per mile for a semi truck, then see what a load really nets in the complete guide to load profitability. What owner-operators actually keep after all of this is covered in how much owner-operators make after expenses.
Frequently asked questions
What does it really cost to run a semi truck per mile?
On my 2022 Cascadia in July 2026, the bare cost is about $1.02 per mile: roughly $0.26 fixed (truck payment, insurance, IRP, permits spread over 3,000 miles a week), $0.15 variable (maintenance and tires), and $0.61 fuel at $4.578 diesel. Your number depends on your own costs and weekly miles.
Is $1.02 per mile the full cost of running the truck?
No — it is the base. It leaves out dispatch and factoring fees, IFTA, ELD and other subscriptions, phone, parking, accounting, and my own pay. Those raise the real break-even well above $1.02. The base is the floor, not the finish line.
How does this compare to the ATRI industry average?
ATRI's 2025 report puts the average marginal cost at $2.260 per mile, but that figure includes driver wages and more overhead than this bare breakdown, so it is not a like-for-like comparison. The lesson is direction, not the gap: even a stripped-down cost clears a dollar a mile.
Why spread fixed costs over 3,000 miles a week?
Because fixed cost per mile falls as miles rise. At 3,000 miles a week my fixed costs land at about $0.26 a mile; at 2,000 miles the same $765 a week would be $0.38 a mile. The mileage you actually run changes your cost per mile more than any single line item.
How often is this benchmark updated?
It is reviewed quarterly and whenever a major cost changes — the fuel line moves with the EIA weekly diesel average, and insurance or the truck payment can shift at renewal. Every figure here is dated so you can see how current it is.
LoadWizz runs this math for you — your costs, live EIA diesel, truck-specific tolls. Numbers, never advice. The call is yours.
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