Start / Machinery and application / Machinery cost
Enter the price, life, use, and costs of the equipment. The page adds the fixed and variable costs, gives the cost per hour and per km, and shows from how many hours per year it is better to own the equipment than to rent it.
Pre-sizing and estimating tool: the results do not replace a design, calculation, or report signed by a qualified professional, nor verification against the applicable standards.
Each row is a cost item, in R$ per hour of use, per km and per year, with the fixed and variable parts separated.
Legend: fixed = exists even when the equipment is stopped (depreciation, interest, insurance, licensing); variable = only spent when running (fuel, tires, maintenance, operator). Straight-line depreciation between the price and the residual value; interest on the average capital tied up, (price + residual) ÷ 2.
Cost per hour of each item, in R$.
How to read: each bar is a cost item, and its length is how much it costs per hour of use, in R$. Fixed items appear in the lighter color. If depreciation and interest are the biggest bars, the equipment is expensive for the use it gets; if fuel and operator are the largest, the cost depends on running it well, not on owning the equipment.
Cost per hour of own equipment (full, without fuel or operator) and of dry rental.
How to read: the horizontal axis is how many hours per year the equipment works; the vertical is the cost of each hour. The cost of owned equipment falls when it is used more, because the fixed part is spread out. The rental line is constant. Where the curve of owning (without fuel and operator, to compare with dry rental) crosses the rental line is the break-even point: above these hours per year, buying pays off; below, renting does.
Drag the controls to simulate data different from what you entered (from 30% less to 30% more) and watch the result change instantly.
Fixed, variable and total cost per hour for different hours of use per year, with the other data entered.
The calculation done in steps, with the values you entered.
Take this page's results to another calculator, with the fields already filled in.
How much each part of the truck's cost weighs over the year.
Cost per kilometre for 40 thousand to 120 thousand km per year; the point is your mileage.
The calculation memo gathers this page's inputs, results, equations, assumptions, and references, with fields for project, responsible person, and review. The full report also includes the charts and interpretations, in color. In the print window, choose Save as PDF.
Enter the acquisition price, the useful life, and the residual value. Then the annual fixed costs (interest, insurance, licensing, and storage), the hours of use per year, and the average speed. Last, fuel consumption, diesel price, tires, maintenance, operator, and charges. The result shows the fixed and variable cost per hour, the cost per km, and the cost per year, and compares it with the dry rental. The block Top-up: cost per kilometre uses the same data and asks for annual mileage and maintenance per km; it shows the cost per km by mileage and the annual cost by component.
Hypothetical values, to understand the calculation. They are not technical or market references.
Truck of R$ 320,000, useful life of 8 years, residual of 25%, 1,800 h of use per year at 40 km/h. Consumes 8 L/h of diesel at R$ 6.00 per litre; operator at R$ 3,200 per month, with 80% charges, for 220 paid hours per month.
Fixed cost per hour: R$ 40.61 (depreciation R$ 30,000, interest R$ 24,000, insurance R$ 9,600, licensing and garage R$ 9,500, added together and divided by 1,800 h).
Variable cost per hour: R$ 96.82, made up of R$ 48.00 fuel, R$ 26.18 operator, R$ 13.33 maintenance, R$ 4.80 lubricants and R$ 4.50 tires.
Total: R$ 137.43 per hour, or R$ 3.44 per km at 40 km/h.
Fixed costs (depreciation, interest on capital, insurance, licensing and other costs that exist even when idle) and variable costs (fuel, lubricants, tires, maintenance and operator). Dividing the total by hours of use gives the cost per hour; dividing by average speed gives the cost per km.
Straight-line depreciation: (price − residual value) ÷ useful life in years. Interest: rate × average capital tied up, which is (price + residual value) ÷ 2, because the equipment's value falls over its life. Added together, they are the base of the fixed cost.
Cost per hour applies to any equipment, including equipment that does not move. Cost per km is the cost per hour divided by the average operating speed, including stops. It only makes sense for vehicles.
It varies a lot. The fixed part is the same each year, so the more hours the equipment works, the less fixed cost each hour carries. The chart shows the curve: with little use, the cost per hour rises sharply.
The annual fixed cost is compared with the saving per hour of not renting: dry rental minus the variable cost of your own machine without fuel and operator. Break-even hours = annual fixed cost ÷ that saving. Above them, owning the equipment pays off.
It is for operating cost. For freight price with taxes and margin, cost per tonne and comparison with a third party, use the freight cost calculator linked below; for the number of vehicles, use the fleet sizing calculator.
These are plausible examples, not quotes. Vehicle price, fuel, tires, wages and rent vary by region and month. Enter your own, and check the interest rate and residual value, which are usually the biggest uncertainties.
Important notice: the Agrocalcs tools make estimates and preliminary sizing based on the data entered and on published engineering methods. They do not replace a design, a calculation report or a report signed by a qualified professional (CREA/ART), nor verification against the applicable technical standards and legislation, such as the Regulatory Standards of the Ministry of Labor. Material and fuel properties vary: check with the manufacturer or with analyses of your process before deciding. By using the site, you agree to the Terms of Use.
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