Hot Shot Trucking Profitability Calculator

How It Works

1. Pick the mode

   General Hot Shot for typical 1-ton + gooseneck loads. OTR Class 8 for sleeper-truck freight with full IFTA, lumper, and layover stack. Oilfield Rig Move for hourly rig-rate work with field accessorial. Switching modes auto-loads sensible defaults (deadhead, MPG, GVW, driver pay mode).

2. Enter the load math

   Linehaul revenue (the rate confirmation amount, no FSC). Loaded miles, deadhead miles. Loaded MPG (10 to 14 for 1-ton + gooseneck loaded; 6 to 7 for Class 8 loaded). Empty MPG (16 to 19 for 1-ton; 7 to 8 for Class 8). Diesel price.

3. Pick trailer type and confirm GVW (general mode)

   Gooseneck (40-45 ft typical), hot shot flatbed, RGN, step deck, or lowboy. Each loads a typical combined GVW. Override your actual combined gross weight if you know it. The CDL boundary check (26,001 lbs) flags any setup at or above the threshold and tells you a CDL is required by FMCSA 49 CFR 383.5 + 383.91.

4. Pick the driver pay mode

   Percentage of revenue (most owner-operators draw 25 to 35 percent of linehaul plus optionally FSC). Per-mile (W-2 fleet driver standard, $0.45 to $0.75 typical). Salary per day (some small fleets with regional drivers). For percentage mode, decide whether the driver gets a cut of FSC and accessorial too; this is contract-specific.

5. Set fixed cost amortization

   Truck payment per month and insurance per month divided by expected loads per month gives the per-load fixed cost. Example: $950 truck + $600 insurance ÷ 12 loads/month = $129 fixed cost amortized into this load. Maintenance per mile rounds it out.

6. Enable fuel surcharge if applicable

   Apply FSC if the contract has one. The DOE-classic formula divides (current diesel - base diesel) by weighted MPG, multiplied by loaded miles. For step-matrix or flat-percent FSC programs, use the dedicated Fuel Surcharge Calculator and add the result to linehaul manually here.

7. Add OTR or Rig Move accessorial

   OTR mode: IFTA per mile, lumper fee, expected layover days. Rig Move mode: rig rate per hour, field hours, wait time + rate, layover days + rate, oversize permit, pilot car miles + rate, mobilization fee. The calculator stacks these into accessorial revenue (some flow to the customer) and other cost (some flow out of pocket).

8. Read the verdict and flags

   Verdict tier (Walk, Negotiate, Take, Gold) plus net profit, margin, effective loaded rate, effective hourly rate. Flags surface deadhead over 40 percent, fuel cost over 25 percent of revenue, driver pay over 32 percent of linehaul, low loaded rate (below $1.40 per mile in general mode), long wait time on rig moves (verify detention pay clause), and CDL boundary breaches.

Built For

• Owner-operator running load board (DAT, Truckstop) and quickly evaluating each posted load
• Hot shot trucker bidding on direct customer contracts in the Permian, Bakken, or Eagle Ford
• Class 8 OTR carrier modeling a lane against accessorial-heavy reality
• Dispatcher reviewing rate confirmations from brokers and pushing back on under-paid loads
• New entrant deciding whether to stay non-CDL (under 26k GVW) or upgrade to a CDL Class 8 setup
• Fleet manager re-quoting customer rates for an annual renewal using updated diesel and insurance numbers
• Recruiter explaining to a candidate driver why the company-paid linehaul is structured the way it is

Features & Capabilities

Three Operating Modes

General Hot Shot (1-ton + gooseneck baseline), OTR Class 8 (heavy cost stack), and Oilfield Rig Move (Permian, Bakken, Eagle Ford field rates). Switch modes with one click; defaults auto-load.

CDL Boundary Check (FMCSA 49 CFR 383.5 + 383.91)

In general mode, the calculator flags combined GVW approaching or exceeding 26,001 lbs as requiring a CDL per federal regulation. Five trailer presets (gooseneck, hot shot flatbed, RGN, step-deck, lowboy) auto-load typical GVW; override to your actual combined weight. CDL needed = DANGER flag with code citation.

Split Loaded vs Empty MPG

Hot shot 1-ton with gooseneck typically gets 11 to 14 MPG loaded but 16 to 19 MPG empty. Class 8 gets 6 to 7 loaded, 7 to 8 empty. The calculator separates these so the fuel cost matches reality across both legs of the trip.

Integrated DOE-Classic Fuel Surcharge

FSC ($/mi) = (current diesel - base) / weighted MPG, applied to loaded miles. Toggle whether driver percentage pay applies to FSC revenue too. For step-matrix or flat-percent FSC programs, use the dedicated Fuel Surcharge Calculator and add manually.

Three Driver Pay Modes

Percentage of revenue (with optional FSC inclusion), per-mile, or salary per day × trip days. Owner-op draws are typically percentage. W-2 fleet drivers are typically per-mile. Regional or relay drivers are sometimes salary-day.

Oilfield Rig Move Accessorial Pack

Rig rate per hour × field hours, wait time × wait rate, layover days × layover rate, oversize permit fee, pilot car miles × pilot car rate, mobilization fee. The accessorial revenue and pass-through costs (pilot car expense, permit cost) are tracked separately.

OTR Class 8 Cost Pack

IFTA per mile (typical $0.04 to $0.06), lumper fee per load (recoverable from broker if billed correctly), and expected layover days × layover pay rate (driver pay during forced shutdown).

Per-Load Fixed Cost Amortization

Truck payment and insurance are monthly costs but loads happen one at a time. The calculator divides monthly fixed by expected loads per month to get a per-load fixed cost share, so the single-load profit reflects realistic fixed-cost drag.

Route Diagram + Revenue Waterfall + Profit Gauge

Route diagram shows origin → pickup → drop with deadhead leg shaded red and loaded leg solid green. Revenue waterfall steps through linehaul + FSC + accessorial - costs to arrive at profit. Profit gauge color-codes the verdict (Walk, Negotiate, Take, Gold).

Tier-1 Branded PDF Export

Full load report including verdict, revenue and cost breakdowns with percent-of-revenue columns, flags, all inputs, and methodology references (ATRI 2024 Operational Costs of Trucking, FMCSA 49 CFR 383.5 / 383.91, DOE EIA weekly retail diesel, DAT/Truckstop spot-market rate data, OOIDA owner-operator economics). Mode-specific filename for filing.

Comparison

Frequently Asked Questions