Calculator

Freight volume and rate variance calculator.

Enter planned and actual tonnes and freight cost to see how much of the gap came from moving more and how much from each tonne costing more.

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Total gap–
Volume variance–
Rate variance–
Cost per tonne, plan → actual–

Runs in your browser; nothing is sent anywhere. Positive figures are over budget.

How it is calculated

Plan cost per tonne = planned cost ÷ planned tonnes; actual cost per tonne = actual cost ÷ actual tonnes. Volume variance = (actual tonnes − planned tonnes) × plan cost per tonne. Rate variance = (actual cost per tonne − plan cost per tonne) × actual tonnes. The two add up exactly to actual cost − planned cost. Example figures are illustrative. Read freight variance analysis.

Questions

How do I split a freight overrun into volume and rate?

Volume variance is the change in tonnes times the planned cost per tonne; rate variance is the change in cost per tonne times actual tonnes. They add up to the total gap.

Why use actual tonnes for the rate variance?

So that volume and rate variance add up exactly to the total gap, with nothing left over.

See it on your own data. FreightPlan — Budget freight, explain the gap. Book a 30-minute working session with an engineer.

General guidance, current as of the date above. Figures and examples are illustrative unless a source is linked.