Every mile on the road costs money. Fuel, wages, maintenance, insurance… it all adds up. Understanding what each mile truly costs your business is one of the most important steps toward running a profitable transport operation.

Cost per mile is a simple but powerful metric. It tells you how much it costs to move your vehicles one mile, taking into account both fixed and variable expenses. Once you know that number, you can make informed decisions about pricing, efficiency, and where to cut waste.

Here’s how to take control of your cost per mile, and how Stratum TMS helps along the way.

1. Reduce Empty Running

Every empty mile eats into profit. It’s time, fuel, and wear on the vehicle that generates no revenue.
Reducing empty running starts with better planning and visibility.

With Stratum TMS, planners can:

• View vehicle availability and locations in real time to match jobs efficiently.
• Use historical route and customer data to identify backload opportunities.
• Share load data between depots and subcontractors to keep wheels turning productively.

When every journey is built with full loads and minimal dead mileage, your cost per mile drops without cutting quality or service.

Empty Running: How to Stop Paying for Miles That Make You Nothing

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2. Smarter Fuel Management and Surcharges

Fuel is one of the biggest expenses in any fleet, and it fluctuates constantly. Managing it properly means more than watching prices. It means understanding usage, applying fuel surcharges fairly, and improving driver performance.

Stratum’s fuel tools make that possible by:

• Tracking real-world fuel consumption through telematics integration.
• Linking surcharges directly to actual fuel spend and mileage so that pricing reflects real costs.
• Identifying high-consumption routes or vehicles so planners can act before costs escalate.

Small changes, like addressing poor driving habits or optimizing routes, can lead to major savings when scaled across your fleet.

Protect Your Bottom Line with Smarter Fuel Surcharges: Staying Competitive with Stratum

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3. Get Real Visibility Into Your Costs

You can’t control what you can’t see. Many transport businesses operate without a clear view of their true running costs. Jobs go out, invoices go in, but there’s little clarity about which work is profitable and which isn’t.

Stratum TMS gives you the tools to see exactly where your money goes by:

• Tracking every cost, from driver hours and tolls to maintenance and fuel.
• Showing profit and loss per load, lane, or customer in real time.
• Combining data across operations, compliance, and invoicing into one clear financial picture.

That visibility helps you make confident pricing decisions, cut waste where it matters, and protect your margins mile after mile.

Solutions for Managing Directors: Comprehensive control and actionable insights

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Final Thoughts

Controlling cost per mile isn’t about cutting corners. It’s about running smarter, reducing empty miles, managing fuel intelligently, and having the data to see what’s really happening in your business.

Stratum TMS brings these elements together in one connected platform, helping operators protect profit, maintain visibility, and plan every mile with purpose.

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