Freight economics · Step 2 of 3
What would this lane cost if I hit my targets?
Set the fill and empty-return numbers you're actually running today, then set the targets you're aiming for. The result is the ₹-per-unit gap between the two, and what closing it would be worth over a year.
Your comparison
Prefilled from Freight per Unit
Gap between current and target, this lane
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Thresholds illustrative: gap ≤5% of current: Healthy · 5–20%: Borderline · >20%: Needs attention.
Fill in your lane and target numbers to see a comparison.
Your lane, load, and diesel
Why might the empty-leg share be less than 100%, or the two diesel prices differ?
Share of the empty leg you pay for: by default this assumes you carry the full cost of the empty return leg, in both the current and target scenario. In practice you might carry less, for example under a contracted round-trip rate where the return is already priced in, or a brokered backhaul where another shipper covers part of the empty leg. If either applies to your lane, lower this figure.
Diesel price vs diesel contract-base price: the base price is the diesel level your freight rate was set against; the current price is what diesel costs now. This calculator only adds a diesel adjustment on top of your rate when the two differ. If your contract already carries a pass-through clause that adjusts ₹/km automatically as diesel moves, keep the two prices equal so the index stays neutral.
Current vs target, this lane
Current (as run)
Target (your scenario)
Where should target numbers come from?
Treat this as a scenario you can defend, not a wish. Good sources: the best fill and empty-return numbers you've actually hit in a recent month, a rate or utilisation figure written into an existing carrier contract, or a result you've already seen on a pilot lane. A target pulled from thin air is easy to miss and hard to justify to whoever asks how you got there.
Where this number comes from
Both the current and target figures use the same five-step formula; only fill and empty-return change between them. Nothing here is an asserted India-wide norm for fill, empty running, or diesel pass-through: every one of those figures, current or target, is the one you entered.
Diesel index
How far today's diesel price has moved from the price your freight rate was set against; 1 means no swing either way.
Effective units
How many units the truck is actually carrying, once you account for fill, not its full rated capacity.
Line-haul
The freight cost of the outbound loaded leg, spread across the effective units actually on the truck.
Empty-backhaul penalty
Your share of the cost of the truck's return leg running without a load, applied on top of the line-haul above.
Freight per unit
Add the line-haul and the empty-backhaul penalty together, and that's the ₹-per-unit figure, run once at your current fill and empty-return, and once at your targets.
Gap and annualised gap, further down, are nothing new on top of this: just this formula run twice, current against target, with the difference taken per unit and then multiplied by how many units you move in a year.
Terms used on this page
- Line-haul
- The freight cost of the outbound loaded leg, spread across the units actually on the truck.
- Effective units
- How many units a truck is actually carrying, once you account for fill, not its full rated capacity.
- Diesel index
- Today's diesel price divided by the base price your freight rate was set against. 1 means no swing.
- Empty-backhaul penalty
- Your share of the cost of the truck's return leg running without a load.
- Gap
- The difference between your current freight per unit and what it would be at your target fill and empty-return numbers, on this lane.
- Annualised gap
- The per-unit gap multiplied by how many units you move on this lane in a year.
Where this sits in the chain
This is the second of three connected calculators. Freight per Unit sets this lane's baseline cost. This page compares that baseline against a target scenario you define. Controllable vs Structural then breaks a freight figure like either one of these into the cost components you can act on and the ones you can't.
Common questions
What does the gap between current and target freight cost per unit tell you?
It is the difference between your freight per unit today and what it would be if you hit the fill and empty-return numbers you set as targets, spread across every unit you ship in a year. It highlights how much of your freight cost is genuinely in your control on this lane, given the diesel price and rate you are paying.
How do I set realistic truck-fill and empty-return targets for a freight cost comparison?
Start from something you have actually hit: your best recent month, a number written into an existing contract, or a result from a pilot lane, rather than a round number that sounds ambitious. A target you have already touched once is a target you can defend when someone asks how you got there.
Why annualise a per-unit freight saving before acting on it?
A few rupees per unit looks small until you annualise it by multiplying by how much you actually ship in a year. The annualised figure turns a per-unit rounding difference into the number that belongs in a budget conversation, so the size of the opportunity, or the cost of missing it, is clear.
What does it mean if my target freight scenario costs more per unit than my current operation?
That means the target fill or empty-return numbers are less efficient than what you are actually running today. The calculator still shows the comparison honestly rather than hiding it; treat it as a signal to tighten the target, not as a flaw in the model.
Next in the chain
This is your starting number, not your final answer. Validate it against your own lanes, rates, and costs before you act on it.