Rate Per Mile (RPM)
What is rate per mile (rpm)? Rate per mile is the freight payment divided by the loaded miles on a load — the most common per-mile economic metric in trucking.
Full definition
RPM is how brokers and carriers talk about freight pricing. A 1,000 mile load paying $2,000 is a $2.00 RPM. Compare across lanes, seasons, and freight types to evaluate whether a load is paying.
Good RPM is relative. National average dry-van RPM might run $2.10-$2.40 depending on the market; reefer runs higher; flatbed varies with construction cycles. Lane-level RPM matters more than average — a $1.80 RPM load with a guaranteed backhaul beats a $2.50 RPM load deadheading 500 miles after delivery.
Loaded-mile RPM is the most common version. All-in RPM (loaded + deadhead) is the truer profitability measure.