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Is a fixed monthly truck contract profitable?

A customer offers a fixed amount every month to keep your truck dedicated to them. Steady money sounds safer than chasing loads. It can be, or it can lock you into a loss. This guide shows how to check a monthly contract, and the clauses that protect you.

Updated 31 October 2026 · 7 min read · Figures are worked examples, not market rates

In short

With a fixed monthly rate, your revenue is fixed but your costs aren't. Diesel, tolls and wear rise with every kilometre the customer uses.
Price the contract on the kilometres the customer will actually use, not on trips.
Protect yourself with a kilometre cap, an excess-km rate, waiting charges and a diesel price clause.
In the example, 15% longer trips turn a ₹29,259 monthly surplus into a ₹12,741 loss.

The offer

A customer offers ₹4,20,000 a month for our example truck, dedicated to their work. They expect about 8 round trips of 1,000 km. On the spot market, the same 8 trips would earn 8 × ₹52,000 = ₹4,16,000, if you could find all 8 loads.

The truck's costs are the same as in our other guides: ₹35 per km in variable costs (₹35,000 per 1,000 km trip), ₹47,000 a month in fixed running costs, and a ₹63,741 EMI.

Step 1: Check the month as the customer describes it

Worked example: 8 trips of 1,000 km

Contract payment	₹4,20,000
Variable costs: 8,000 km × ₹35	− ₹2,80,000
Fixed running costs	− ₹47,000
EMI	− ₹63,741
Cash left	₹29,259

That's slightly better than the spot market at full use (₹25,259), and the income is certain. So far, a good deal.

Step 2: Test it when the customer uses more

Now suppose the customer's deliveries turn out to be 1,150 km rather than 1,000 km, perhaps because of a new drop point or a detour. Same 8 trips, same fixed payment:

Worked example: 8 trips of 1,150 km

Contract payment	₹4,20,000
Variable costs: 9,200 km × ₹35	− ₹3,22,000
Fixed running costs + EMI	− ₹1,10,741
Cash left	− ₹12,741

1,200 extra kilometres cost ₹42,000, and the whole surplus is gone. Nothing in the contract changed. The customer simply used the truck more, which a fixed rate lets them do for free.

Watch out: a fixed-rate contract transfers the risk of more use to you. If the agreement doesn't limit kilometres, hours or trips, assume the customer will use all the truck can give.

Step 3: Test it when the customer uses less

If the customer only needs 6 trips, costs fall to 6,000 km × ₹35 = ₹2,10,000, and the cash left rises to ₹99,259. That's the upside of a fixed rate. But don't count on it: customers who use less tend to renegotiate.

The clauses that make a monthly contract safe

Clause	What it does	In the example
Kilometre cap	Fixes how much use the monthly rate covers	Up to 8,000 km a month
Excess-km rate	Charges for use above the cap, at least your variable cost plus a margin	Above ₹35/km, for example ₹42/km
Waiting / detention charges	Pays for time stuck at the customer's sites, which costs you trips	See our waiting time guide
Diesel price adjustment	Moves the rate when diesel moves	Each ₹5/litre change is about ₹10,000 a month at 8,000 km and 4 km/l
Payment terms	When you get paid	Late payment means you fund diesel and the EMI yourself

With a cap and an excess rate of just ₹35/km, the 1,150 km month would have earned an extra ₹42,000 and stayed at ₹29,259. At ₹42/km it would have earned ₹50,400, and you'd make a margin on the extra work too.

Quick checklist before you sign

Ask for the customer's real route list and expected kilometres, not just the trip count.
Price the base rate on those kilometres at your full running cost per km, plus margin.
Put a kilometre cap and an excess-km rate in writing.
Add waiting charges and a diesel adjustment.
Check the payment terms against your EMI date.

Run it with your own numbers

Use FleetProfit's monthly plan and scenarios to test a contract: change kilometres, trips and diesel price, and see the cash left after the EMI each time.

Open scenarios

Common questions

Is a dedicated monthly contract better than spot loads?

It gives steady income and no empty days hunting for loads, which can be worth a slightly lower rate. But only if the contract limits how much the truck is used for that fixed payment.

What should the excess kilometre rate be?

At least your variable cost per kilometre (diesel, tolls, driver allowance and wear), plus a margin. Below that, every extra kilometre the customer uses costs you money.

Should a monthly contract include a diesel clause?

Diesel is usually the largest cost of running a truck. Without an adjustment clause, a rise in diesel price comes straight out of your margin for the length of the contract.