Freight is over budget. Was it because more was shipped, or because each tonne cost more? Until those two are separated, every explanation is a guess.
Freight variance analysis splits the difference between actual and planned freight cost into a volume variance (you moved more or less) and a rate variance (each tonne cost more or less), then breaks the rate variance into causes.
| Part | Formula | Question it answers |
|---|---|---|
| Volume variance | (actual tonnes − plan tonnes) × plan cost per tonne | How much is explained by shipping more or less? |
| Rate variance | (actual cost per tonne − plan cost per tonne) × actual tonnes | How much is explained by each tonne costing more or less? |
| Total | Volume variance + rate variance = actual cost − plan cost | The two always add up exactly |
Try the freight cost calculator for single trips.
FreightPlan loads your masters (plants, depots, lanes, carriers, fleet, rate cards and demand) from CSV, validating every row: a bad row is rejected with the reason and the fix, and the rest of the file loads. It prices every option with one landed-cost formula (billable load × rate × (1 + fuel surcharge) + toll + handling) and uses a Google OR-Tools optimiser to choose the plant, carrier and truck type for every depot, in whole trucks, within 1% of optimal, subject to six written rules: demand, plant output, fleet truck-days, carrier share, contracted commitments and whole trucks. Unserved demand is reported, never hidden. At month-end the same formula prices the trip log, the gap is split into volume and rate so the two add up exactly to the total, and the rate gap is split into five causes (empty truck space, rate card, unplanned trips, detention and service), each with an owner and an action.
Splitting the gap between actual and planned freight cost into volume variance and rate variance, then breaking the rate variance into causes with owners.
Actual tonnes minus planned tonnes, multiplied by the planned cost per tonne.
Actual cost per tonne minus planned cost per tonne, multiplied by actual tonnes. Volume and rate variance add up exactly to the total gap.
See it on your own data. FreightPlan — Budget freight, explain the gap. Book a 30-minute working session with an engineer.
