What Owner-Operators Miss To Be Profitable (Cost Per Mile, Fuel & Margins) with Kevin Rutherford
April 21, 2026
In this episode of Behind the Freight, Kevin Rutherford tells us why a lot of owner operators are working hard but still not making money. It starts with knowing your cost per mile. Without that, every load is a guess. He explains how fuel impacts your bottom line, which small changes are important and what happens when you go from one truck to two. This episode talks about how to actually stay profitable in trucking.
A lot of people in trucking think they are making money but you’d be surprised to know that many of them are not. In this episode of Behind the Freight, Todd Waldron and John Howland sit down with Kevin Rutherford to explain how to make profit in this business.
Kevin simply says that if you do not know your cost per mile, you do not know your business. Every load you take is a guess. And over time, those guesses catch up. Kevin explains that while you cannot control the fuel market, you can control how you run your truck. Speed, fuel usage, and daily decisions all make a difference. Even small improvements can mean thousands of dollars over time.
They also discuss growing the business. A lot of drivers want to add a second truck but Kevin points out that that is where things usually start going wrong. Running one truck is where most truckers’ expertise lies, but managing more than one truck forces you to run a business.
This episode is about running a trucking business that continues making money.
What You’ll Learn:
- How to know if you are actually making money per load
- Why cost per mile is the most important number
- How fuel impacts your profit every single day
- Simple changes that can improve your margins
- Why the second truck changes everything
- Mistakes drivers make when they become owners
- Why experience alone is not enough
- How mindset affects long-term success
Episode Highlights
[00:02:10] If You Don’t Know Your Numbers, You’re Guessing
Kevin starts with a question most operators can’t answer clearly: what does it actually cost you to run your truck? The conversation gets into why so many people avoid it and what that leads to.
[00:08:45] Fuel Is Your Biggest Expense
Fuel is the biggest cost in your operation, you already know that. But the interesting part is how much control you actually have over it. The discussion starts to detail where that control shows up.
[00:15:30] Small Changes That Add Up Over Time
They get into the kind of decisions that don’t feel important day to day. But over time, those small choices start to add up. This is where the conversation shifts from theory to real-world impact.
[00:22:10] The Second Truck Problem
Kevin explains why adding a second truck to an operation changes everything. The responsibilities increase, and things get more complicated fast. This is where a lot of operators start to feel the pressure.
[00:30:05] Experience Doesn’t Guarantee Profit
Years on the road don’t always translate into running a strong business. Kevin talks about a pattern he’s seen over and over which challenges a belief a lot of drivers carry when they make the jump.
[00:36:40] Mindset Separates The Winners
Toward the end, the conversation turns to mindset about how people approach the business. Some patterns show up clearly in who makes it and who struggles.
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