Multi-stop loads look good per mile and often aren't, because every stop adds an hour or two at a dock without adding a mile. This multi-stop load pay calculator puts the stops into hours, then compares the offer with a fair total for both the miles and the stop time.
How it is calculated
- Offer = linehaul + pay per extra stop × extra stops
- Hours on the load = miles ÷ average speed + (extra stops + pickup + delivery) × hours per stop
- Offer per hour = offer ÷ hours on the load
- Fair pay per extra stop = hours per stop × what an hour of truck time is worth to you
- Fair total = miles × your target rate per mile + extra stops × fair pay per stop
- Gap = fair total − offer
Your target rate comes from your costs; the load profitability calculator helps you find it. What an hour is worth is your daily revenue target divided by the hours you work.
A worked example
- Linehaul $1,500 + 3 × $75
- $1,725
- 10 h driving + 5 stops × 1.5 h
- 17.5 h
- Offer per hour
- $99
- Fair: 450 × $3.00 + 3 × $135
- $1,755
Per mile the offer is $3.83, which looks strong. Per hour it's $99, just above the $90 target. The $75 stop pay covers barely half of what each stop costs in time. Ask for $135 a stop, or about $30 more on the total.
Multi-stop tips
| Watch for | Why |
|---|---|
| Stops in city centers | Traffic and tight docks can double the time |
| Appointment windows | One late stop can push the rest |
| Detention terms per stop | Free time usually resets at each stop |
| Piece counts | Short or over at one stop can cause a claim at the last |
Keep times for every stop; detention at any of them is worked out in the detention pay calculator. Power only and intermodal moves often include extra stops at yards and ramps; see power only intermodal loads and intermodal freight rates, and how we plan them on power only dispatch.
Results are estimates from the numbers you enter.