Calculate your truck's profitability
Enter your figures and find out in 2 minutes your monthly profit and how long your truck takes to pay for itself.
How to analyse a truck's profitability
A truck is profitable when what it earns each month is more than everything it costs, including its repayment. To find out, start from your own figures: the transport rate in your city, the number of trips you can make, the distance and your real costs. The calculator gives no ready-made figures: it works only from yours.
The method has four steps. First, estimate your monthly revenue: the revenue from one trip multiplied by the number of trips. Next, add up all your costs: fuel, salaries, maintenance, tyres, insurance, taxes and road costs. Subtract these costs from the revenue to get your monthly profit, before tax on profits. Finally, divide the price of the truck by this profit to see how many months it takes to pay for itself.
Two indicators complete this calculation. The operating cost per kilometre tells you what each kilometre driven costs you, excluding the truck price: your rates must cover it and pay off the truck. The margin is the share of revenue left after costs: the thinner it is, the more easily one unexpected cost can push you into a loss. For the detailed method, read A truck is an investment, not an expense.
The costs people often forget
Many calculations are too optimistic because they leave out some costs. Here are the most common:
- The empty return: if your truck comes back without a load, it burns fuel without earning anything. Tick the box in the calculator to account for it.
- Tyres: they wear quickly on dirt roads and when overloaded. Set aside a budget for the year.
- Days without work: rainy season, waiting to load, maintenance days or days without orders. Use a realistic number of working days.
- Breakdowns and downtime: a truck that is off the road earns nothing, but its loan and salaries still have to be paid. The contingency percentage is there for this.
- Road costs: tolls, weighbridges and border crossing costs for regional transport.
- Annual costs: insurance, road tax and roadworthiness tests, easily forgotten because they are not paid every month.
Which truck to choose for your business
The right truck is the one that fits your work, not necessarily the most powerful one.
- Sand, gravel, laterite: the dump truck, also called a tipper. The 6x4, known as the 10-wheeler, suits most construction sites. The 8x4, or 12-wheeler, carries more where the permitted weight allows it. See our dump trucks and our article on the 10-wheeler dump truck.
- Containers and long-distance freight: the tractor head with a semi-trailer. See our tractor heads.
- Water or fuel: the tanker truck. See our tanker trucks.
The engine also matters for parts and maintenance. The Howo 371 is one of the most common engines in the Howo range: read its full technical sheet, and our article Sinotruk or Howo: what is the difference? to understand the range names.
Frequently asked questions
It depends entirely on your business: the trip rate in your city, the number of trips per day, the distance and your costs. Two identical trucks can give very different results from one city to another. Enter your own figures in the calculator to get your monthly profit.
Divide the purchase price of the truck by your monthly profit: you get the number of months needed. If you buy on credit, count the time to recover your down payment: during the loan with the profit left after the instalment, then, once the loan ends, with the full profit. The calculator does this for you, taking the loan term into account.
Look for a load for the return trip to avoid driving empty, respect the permitted load, maintain the engine and filters, check tyre pressure and train your drivers to drive smoothly. A truck suited to your load also uses less fuel.
A new truck costs more to buy, but it breaks down less and comes with the manufacturer's warranty. A used truck costs less at the start, but breakdowns and maintenance can eat into your profit. Compare the two with the "Compare with another truck" button in the calculator. We supply new trucks and source used trucks on request.
Add up your monthly operating costs, without the loan instalment, then divide by the number of kilometres driven in the month, including empty returns. The result tells you what each kilometre driven costs, excluding the truck price: your rates must cover this cost and pay off the truck.