Freight economics · Step 1 of 3
What does it cost to move one unit on this lane?
Enter your lane distance, freight rate, truck fill, and empty-return numbers. The result is a ₹-per-unit figure built from your own inputs, no assumed industry norms.
Your result
Prefilled from your outofstock.in result
Cost to move one unit on this lane
– / unit
Fill in your lane numbers to see a result.
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 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 to reflect only the share you actually bear.
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 and the rate field alone carries the change. If your contract is flat regardless of diesel, keep them distinct to see the pass-through here instead.
Your own targets: used only to set the status chip below, illustrative starting points.
Where this number comes from
This calculator spreads a loaded truck's line-haul cost across the units actually on board, adjusts for a diesel-price swing against your contract base, and adds your share of the empty-return leg.
Diesel index
How far today's diesel price has moved from the base price your freight rate was set against; 1 means no swing:
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 units actually on the truck and adjusted for any diesel swing:
Empty-backhaul penalty
Your share of the cost of the truck's return leg running without a load:
Freight per unit
Add the line-haul and the empty-backhaul penalty together and you're back to the same ₹-per-unit figure this lane costs to run:
Nothing here is an asserted India-wide norm for fill, empty running, or diesel pass-through: every one of those figures is the one you entered.
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.
Where this sits in the chain
This is the first of three connected calculators. Current vs Optimised takes these same lane numbers and compares your current setup against a scenario you define. Controllable vs Structural then breaks a freight figure like this one into the cost components you can act on and the ones you can't. Each hands its inputs to the next.
Common questions
What does freight cost per unit mean in road transport?
Freight cost per unit is the freight cost of moving a single unit on one lane, once you spread the cost of the whole loaded truck across the units actually on it and add a share of the cost of the truck running back empty. It is a per-unit figure, not a per-truck or per-trip figure, so it stays comparable across lanes with different volumes.
How does truck fill percentage affect freight cost per unit?
Truck fill percentage affects freight cost per unit inversely: the line-haul cost of a truck is roughly fixed once you have picked the lane and the rate, so it gets divided across however many units are actually on board: a lower fill raises the cost per unit and a higher fill lowers it. A half-full truck spreads that same cost over half as many units, which roughly doubles the freight cost of each one. Fill is usually the single biggest lever on this number.
What is the empty-backhaul penalty and why do I pay for it?
The empty-backhaul penalty is the cost of a truck's return leg running empty, which you pay a share of because many lanes send a full truck out but bring it back with no load, and someone has to cover that return-leg cost one way or another. This calculator adds a share of that return-leg cost onto your outbound freight per unit. The share field lets you set how much of the empty leg you actually bear, since some contracts and brokered backhauls shift part of that cost elsewhere.
Why does a freight cost calculation need both the current diesel price and a contract-base diesel price?
A freight cost calculation needs both the current diesel price and a contract-base diesel price because the calculator only adds a diesel adjustment on top of your rate when the two differ; the base price is the diesel level your rate was set against, and the current price is what diesel costs now. If your contract already adjusts the rate automatically as diesel moves, set both prices equal so the index stays neutral and the rate field alone carries the change.
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.