Methodology
The math behind every number.
FreightMath isn't a dashboard layered over industry averages. It's an end-to-end methodology — standardized chart of accounts, Activity-Based Costing engine, load-level allocation, and network-aware operating ratios. Every benchmark, score, and bid price on the platform traces back to the same math.
Foundational principles.
Four beliefs that shape every modeling decision in the platform.
Precision over averages
Every load is unique. We reject industry-wide averages in favor of granular, activity-based cost allocation that reflects what actually happened on every move.
Iterative refinement
The first facts are usually wrong — and that's the point. Each period of data sharpens the model, replacing assumptions with actuals until your cost picture is undeniable.
Network-aware
A load isn't priced in isolation. Inbound positioning, outbound options, and deadhead exposure are baked into every number — the math your dispatcher already does in their head.
No black box
Every load-level dollar traces back to a GL account through MapLedger. Carriers can audit any cost allocation end to end. Methodology beats mystery, every time.
One stack, six layers.
Every FreightMath product is built on the same foundation. The layers stack — and each one inherits the rigor and auditability of the layer below it.
MapLedger
Standardization layerAny carrier's general ledger maps to the FreightMath Standard COA — 550 accounts across 5 operating groups and 7 labor groups. Three-segment account numbers (Category – Operation – Labor) make every cost categorizable, comparable, and allocable.
FreightMath
Activity-Based Costing engineFive allocation methods route every standardized GL dollar through the driver that best explains its consumption. The result lands on individual load segments — and rolls back up to load, lane, customer, area, and network operating ratios.
FreightMarks
Industry benchmarkingOnce carriers are on the same chart of accounts, benchmarks become honest. Per-mile and percent-of-revenue ranges by operating mode and labor group — drawn from anonymized peer data — provide context for every FreightMath number.
Quality of Freight
Freight grading layerThe same diligence-grade scoring KSMTA runs in M&A engagements, packaged for daily operations. Five dimensions (Profitability, Rate Position, Density, Network Balance, Customer Behavior) collapse into A+ through F freight tiers.
BidRight
Data-driven bid pricingThe live OR model, scored freight tiers, and FreightMarks context combine into Floor / Target / Stretch price lines for every lane in every RFP. Network-aware pricing math — not a spreadsheet best-guess.
FreightFit
Mixed-integer optimizationWhen the question is "what mix of freight should we run?", FreightFit solves it. Asset-only, asset+non-asset, or pro-forma post-acquisition scenarios — the optimizer ranks every load by its margin contribution to the whole network.
The Segment Level Costing pipeline.
Four stages transform a 12-month trial balance into load-level cost visibility — with a full audit trail back to every original GL account.
MapLedger Standardizes the GL
Your unique chart of accounts maps to the FreightMath Standard COA. Every line item is classified, tagged with cost type (variable / overhead / direct / metric), and assigned to one of the five allocation methods.
GL Routes to Allocation Methods
Each cost category flows to one of the five methods — V, O, P, T, or D — based on the cost driver that best explains how the dollar is actually consumed. Most lines route via Ratio Allocation (preferred); a small remainder use Percentage Allocation.
Methods Fan to Segments
Variable costs fan to all segments by costing miles. Overhead fans by hours under power. Pre-Standard and Tolls hit specific segments directly. Trailer Pool distributes by trailer-days at the relevant location.
Every Dollar Lands on a Load
Segment cost rolls up to load. Load rolls up to lane, customer, area, and network. The full GL is reconciled — what fell out of the trial balance equals what landed on freight.
Five allocation methods.
Each cost category flows to the method whose driver best explains how it is consumed — not the method that's easiest to compute.
Variable
Driver: Costing Miles
Costs that scale with distance. Each segment absorbs its share of total costing miles for the period.
Includes: Fuel, driver compensation, maintenance, insurance
Overhead
Driver: Hours Under Power
Fixed costs distributed by time, not distance. Each segment absorbs its share of operating hours.
Includes: Revenue equipment, non-driver comp, technology, G&A
Pre-Standard
Driver: Direct Assignment
Costs that belong to a specific segment from the start. Applied directly — never enters the general pool.
Includes: Owner-operator settlements, lumper, escorts, permits
Tolls
Driver: Actual Lane Routing
Allocated by actual lane routing using third-party toll data — not averages, not pro-rata.
Includes: Highway tolls, bridge fees, ferry charges
Trailer Pool
Driver: Trailer-Days at Location
Distributed to segments touching pool origins or destinations by trailer-days at each location.
Includes: Drop-trailer ownership at designated pool locations
Four dimensions of Operating Ratio.
Most platforms give you one OR number. FreightMath gives you four — because a load's true profitability includes the cost of getting freight into its origin and the value of freight leaving its destination.
Built for how trucking actually works.
Standard ABC models break when applied to truckload operations. FreightMath includes purpose-built treatments for the edge cases that distort the numbers in plain models.
Team Driver Premium
Team-operated trucks cost more per mile due to higher driver pay. Team miles are weighted at a ~37% premium. The model converts all miles to effective single miles, then applies the multiplier — so team loads absorb the cost they actually drive.
Reefer Fuel by Temperature
Refrigeration cost is allocated proportionally by temperature category — Dry, Chilled, Frozen, Deep Frozen — each carrying a planning rate that reflects actual thermodynamic demand. Total allocated always equals GL.
Workday Model
Monthly overhead is allocated using weighted workdays, not calendar days. Weekdays carry full weight, Saturdays half, Sundays and holidays minimal. Short months no longer artificially compress OR.
Deadhead Attribution
PRE charges empty miles to the next loaded order. POST charges them to the prior order. SPLIT divides 50/50. All three preserve total network cost — only the load-level distribution changes.
Real Accessorial Recovery
Pledged detention pay matters only when it's actually collected. Every accessorial is discounted by historical recovery rate, not by contract language.
Asset / Non-Asset Separation
One-Way OTR, Dedicated, Expedited, and Brokerage have different economics and different cost stacks. Each operating group is costed and benchmarked independently, then combined for network views.
What carriers provide.
FreightMath requires four data feeds. Most carriers can deliver every one of them within two weeks of kickoff — no system changes, no new fields in the TMS, no GL restatement.
General Ledger
MonthlyExcel-based trial balance (expense and revenue accounts) for the prior 12 months. MapLedger handles the mapping — your COA does not have to change.
TMS Transactional Data
Weekly/DailyStandardized extract package per TMS (asset and non-asset). Provides load, order, dispatch, segment, and revenue charge detail for the full FreightMath model.
Equipment & Driver Roster
Weekly/DailyTractor and trailer inventory, lease terms, driver compensation structure. Drives equipment-level cost allocation and labor-group benchmarking.
Driver Pay Settlements
WeeklyPer-driver settlement records — miles, revenue paid, deductions, benefits, and bonuses. Enables driver-level cost allocation, pay-model benchmarking, and retention analytics.
See the math behind your freight.
Book a walkthrough and see Segment Level Costing — and the four FreightMath layers built on top of it — running on your own data.