Guide
Reading a lane in three numbers.
Floor, benchmark, ceiling. Know all three before you call the broker back.
Floor
The lowest rate per mile that still clears your cost on total miles, including the empty run. Below the floor the load is a donation. The floor is yours, not the market's — it moves when your fuel price or payment moves.
Benchmark
What the lane normally pays for your equipment in the current week. This is the number a broker expects you to know. Loads at benchmark are workable; they are not where your good months come from.
Ceiling
The high end the lane has supported recently — usually tied to tight capacity, a short fuse, or an appointment nobody else can hit. The ceiling is what you ask for when you have leverage.
How to use them
- 01Write your floor first, before you look at any posting. It comes from your cost per mile and your expected deadhead.
- 02Convert every quoted rate to total miles: whole check divided by loaded plus empty. Compare that to your floor.
- 03Judge the benchmark on equipment and direction, not just the city pair. Reefer and flatbed do not follow van, and inbound is rarely priced like outbound.
- 04Ask for the ceiling when the load is time-sensitive, oversized for the market, or the last one covered. Ask plainly and give the number.
- 05Track what you actually got in each lane. Your own history is better lane intelligence than anything you can buy.
Next
Our free Lane Intelligence tool lays out floor, benchmark, and ceiling for a lane, and the Profit X-Ray scores a specific offer against your own costs.