Revenue per Tonne-Kilometre (RTK)
Revenue earned per tonne of freight per kilometre, measuring freight yield
What is Revenue per Tonne-Kilometre (RTK)?
Revenue per tonne-kilometre is the freight revenue earned for each tonne carried over one kilometre. It shows the price a freight business earns for moving cargo.
It is a standard yield measure in freight transport, allowing comparison across routes, modes and time.
How this KPI is measured
- Function
- Finance
- Sub-function
- Revenue Management
- Industry
- Logistics & Transport
- Type
- Lagging
- Impact
- Revenue
- Unit
- $ per tonne-km
- Measurement frequency
- Monthly
- Formula
- Total freight revenue / Total tonne-kilometres
How to calculate it
Divide total freight revenue by total tonne-kilometres.
For example, if a carrier earned 6,000,000 from 30,000,000 tonne-kilometres, the revenue per tonne-kilometre is 0.20.
A tonne-kilometre is one tonne carried one kilometre, so total tonne-kilometres is the sum of each load's weight times distance.
Where it is used
Tracking yield
See pricing trends.
Comparing routes and customers
Find the most profitable.
Setting prices
Compare with cost per tonne-kilometre.
How to improve it
Tips and common mistakes
- Compare yield with cost, not in isolation.
- Fuel surcharges affect the figure.
- Compare similar cargo types.
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