Box Truck Cost Per Mile Calculator
Amazon Relay blocks, regional LTL, and local final-mile freight all pay by the load or the block, not a clean per-mile rate card. Knowing your real all-in cost per mile is what tells you whether a block or a load actually clears money once fuel, maintenance, and fixed costs are counted. The diesel price below is this week's real U.S. average, not a stale number from last quarter.
Defaults below are starting points for a typical Box truck (26 ft) operation — plug in your real numbers.
How this is calculated
fixed per mile = monthly fixed costs ÷ miles per month
variable per mile = (diesel ÷ MPG) + maintenance + tires
total = fixed + variable
Price source: EIA Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update, published every Tuesday.
FAQ
Is box truck delivery profitable?
Margins are thin at load-board and Amazon Relay block rates — plenty of box truck operators are running at breakeven or worse without realizing it. The ones who stay profitable keep fixed costs (truck payment, insurance, permits) as low as their situation allows and know their exact cost per mile before they accept a block or a load. That's what this calculator gives you.
Do I need a CDL for a 26 ft box truck?
Most 26 ft box trucks are built right at or under 26,001 lbs GVWR specifically so they fall outside CDL requirements. Check your specific truck's rated GVWR — not just its length — to confirm, since the exact spec varies by manufacturer and configuration.
What does a box truck cost to run per mile?
There's no single honest answer — it depends on your truck payment, your insurance, your maintenance history, and how many miles you run each month. The defaults pre-filled above are a reasonable starting point for a 26 ft box truck, not a promise. Replace every one of them with your real numbers and the result is yours, not an industry average.
Related tools
Box truck rate calculator · Owner-operator cost per mile · Load profit
Data updated: 2026-07-06 · Source: EIA weekly diesel