Practical education for owner operators, written in driver language. The money math, the costs, and the questions worth asking before you sign with any carrier.
Running your own truck? See the lease-on offer on our Owner Operators page.
The weekly benchmark diesel numbers, the same figures most fuel surcharges are based on. Knowing this number tells you what the surcharge on your settlement should roughly track.
Written for drivers who run their own truck. Each one leads with the takeaways and works the numbers in the open, line by line.
You own a business asset and you drive it. Pay yourself like a driver, keep the truck's money in its own account, and judge the business at the end of the year.
Inside: a full example year, from settlements to the operator's paycheck to what is left in the owner's account.
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What pushes diesel up and down, why the West Coast pays more, and how to make sure every cent of fuel discount ends up with you.
Inside: this week's EIA prices by region, what half a mile per gallon is worth over a year, and what to ask about any fuel card.
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Every truck needs repairs. A per-mile reserve turns a breakdown into a bill you already paid for.
Inside: reserve rates by the mile, what a year of upkeep adds up to, and the downtime cost most budgets miss.
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The difference between a USDOT number and an MC number, and what leasing on handles for you compared with running under your own authority.
Inside: what each path asks of you, side by side, and how to decide with numbers instead of guesses.
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Rates climb, fall, and climb again. Here is why, what it means for percentage pay, and how to get through a soft market.
Inside: the signs a market is turning and five steps to stay profitable when it does.
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Gross is the number everybody quotes. This one works a full team week all the way down: fuel, insurance, the truck payment, and what is left at the end.
Inside: a worked example with real math, line by line, so you can run your own week through the same steps.
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Two pay models can look close on paper and land hundreds of dollars apart on the same freight. We put both on one load and show every line.
Inside: how to tell which model pays you more before you sign, and the questions that expose a bad deal.
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If you do not know your cost per mile, you cannot tell a good load from a bad one. This is the worksheet, fixed costs and rolling costs together.
Inside: a step by step worksheet you can copy, with tires, maintenance, and insurance figured the way they actually hit.
Read the articleWe read the same sources we point you to. Freight market reporting, the rules as they are published, and the federal data behind both. Links open the publishers' own websites.
Independent reporting on freight markets, capacity, and rates, including the weekly diesel benchmark story.
Visit FreightWaves →Rules and regulation as published: FMCSA notices, carrier requirements, and commercial vehicle regulation.
Visit the Federal Register →Federal transportation data and research, the numbers behind freight volume and industry trends.
Visit BTS →