A transport company runs on wheels, but focuses on numbers. Without clear KPIs, you don't know whether you're planning every trip profitably, whether drivers are meeting their targets, whether customers are receiving their deliveries correctly. In this article, we show you the KPIs you need to work efficiently, profitably and customer-focused. From load rate and waiting time to cost per kilometer and damage management: everything starts with measuring.
Profitability per trip KPIs
Each trip has a cost and a potential margin. Too often, that margin remains unclear. With these KPIs, you get a grip on the profitability of each trip.
1. Cost per kilometer
What? Total cost of the trip divided by the number of kilometers driven
Included costs: fuel, driver, maintenance, insurance, toll, planning time
Use:
- Compare routes, customers, or vehicles
- Calculate minimum profitable price per kilometer
2. Margin per trip
What? Difference between revenue and trip cost
Use:
- Calculate by customer, trip or region
- Identify structural loss-making trajectories
Hint: Connect miles driven, waiting times and billing data via TMS and on-board computers. See here which TMS systems InsightData can connect.
3. Cost per drop
What? Total trip cost divided by number of delivery addresses
Action: Optimise bundling of deliveries or review pricing per customer segment
KPIs for load levels and routes
A half-empty truck is a waste of money. These KPIs help you use vehicles as efficiently as possible.
4. Load rate (volume efficiency)
What? How much of the cargo space was actually used
Formula: loaded volume ÷ available load volume × 100
Use: By trip, vehicle type, or customer group
Action: Route rework, cross-docking, minimum order sizes
5. Load factor (weight)
What? Percentage of maximum permitted weight used
Why? Especially relevant for heavier goods or legal limits
Important: Low load factor ≠ bad route, but structurally low values require analysis
6. Average stops per trip
What? Number of stops per trip per driver
Use: Optimise trips for clustering or regionalization
Action: Too many stops can increase delays or errors
7. Empty kilometers
What? Percentage of miles driven without load
Use: By region or vehicle typeLink with planning time and return strategy
KPIs per driver or vehicle
The performance of your drivers and vehicles is crucial. These KPIs help you monitor, compare and coach objectively.
8. Delivery reliability per driver
What? Number of on-time deliveries per driver compared to total number of trips
Use: Coaching, bonus systems, route optimization
9. Fuel consumption per 100 km
What? Litres per 100 km calculated per driver and vehicle
Use:
- Detect differences in driving style
- Combine with vehicle type and route characteristics
Action: Driver training, driving style optimization, eco-driving incentives
10. Tyre wear or maintenance costs per vehicle
What? Maintenance costs per kilometer or per period
Use:
- Budgeting
- Time-based vs. performance-based maintenance plans
11. Time registration vs. planning
What? Deviation between scheduled and actual hours
Use:
- Analysis of delays
- Correct wage cost vs. standard time
KPIs around damage or waiting time
Just one claim file or waiting period can completely eat up your margin. These KPIs help to detect where time and money are being lost.
12. Number of claims per month
What? Number of reported damage (cargo, vehicle, infrastructure)
Use: By driver, customer, route or load type
Action: Prevention campaigns, packaging adjustment, redesign of loading procedures
13. Damage rate
What? % of deliveries where damage was reported
Formula: number of claims ÷ total number of deliveries × 100
Why? Critical to customer satisfaction and insurance premiums
14. Average customer waiting time
What? Time between arrival and start of unloading activity
Use:
- Per customer or location
- Modification of slot bookings or SLAs
Hint: Add tolerance margins (e.g. first 10 minutes is “frictionless”)
15. Complaint rate
What? % of customers reporting delivery complaints
Use: Combine with damage dates and delivery time
Action: Measure impact on customer relationships and internal follow-up
Transportation Planning Dashboards
Transport data is only valuable if you convert it into insights. Here, dashboards are your cockpit: they show what's happening, where and why.
What does a good transport dashboard include?
- KPIs per trip, driver and customer
- Real-time trip status and waiting times
- Empty kilometres mapped by region
- Margin per route or customer segment
- Overrun alerts (damage, delay, fuel consumption)
Visualization tips
- Map views with route and load factor per area
- Gauge charts for margin per trip or OTIF
- Pareto analysis of claims or waiting time
- Stacked bars for cost structure per kilometer
Tools
Common transport KPI mistakes
- Show operational figures only (trips, kilometers)
- No link between cost and revenue
- No action trigger linked to KPIs
- KPIs remain within the planning team, not shared with operations
Combine KPIs with driver feedback
Turn KPIs into goals and incentives
Automate data collection as much as possible
Integrate KPIs into the trip planning and route approach
Summary: Which KPIs are essential?
Every transport company should at least follow these KPIs:
- Cost and margin per ride/kilometer
- Load rate and empty kilometers
- Damage and waiting time per customer/trip
- Fuel consumption and maintenance per vehicle
- Delivery reliability and complaint rate per driver
Ready to have your transport data render? Contact us for an informal conversation or delve further into the topics below.