How do you calculate route density margin?

Divide profitable or on-plan stops by total stops and multiply by 100. With 32 profitable stops out of 40 total, that's 32 ÷ 40 × 100 = 80% route density margin.

What is a good route density margin?

For cylinder and packaged-gas routes, 80 to 90% on-plan stops is healthy; below 75% the route is usually carrying too many unprofitable or off-schedule stops. Bulk-liquid routes can run lower stop density if individual drops are large.

What does the gap to target mean?

It's the difference between your actual margin and your target. Here 80% actual against an 85% target leaves a 5-point gap — meaning roughly 2 of the 40 stops need to convert from unprofitable to on-plan to hit target.

Why is route density so important for gas delivery?

Cryogenic trailers and cylinder trucks have high fixed cost per route-day. The more profitable stops you pack into the same drive, the lower your cost-to-serve per delivery. Thin routes spread that fixed cost over too few paying stops.

How do I improve a low route density margin?

Enforce minimum order quantities, consolidate adjacent thin routes, shift small accounts to less-frequent delivery cycles, and reprice off-plan stops. Each of these raises the profitable-stop share without adding drive time.

Route density margin vs cost-to-serve — what's the difference?

Density margin is a stop-count ratio that's quick to read; cost-to-serve is a full dollar build-up per delivery. Density margin is a fast screening flag, and a low score usually predicts a high cost-to-serve that justifies a deeper dollar analysis.

Industrial Gases & Cryogenic Systems calculator

Route density margin Calculator

In industrial gas distribution, the difference between a profitable route and a money-losing one is density — how many paying, on-plan stops you make per mile of driving. Route density margin expresses the share of stops on a route that are actually profitable or on-plan, which tells logistics planners whether a route earns its truck, driver, and cryogenic trailer cost. Distribution managers and route planners use it to flag thin routes that need consolidation, repricing, or minimum-order enforcement. The calculator also shows the gap to your target margin, so you know exactly how many points of improvement a route needs before it clears your hurdle.

What this calculator does

Calculate route density margin from profitable delivered stops, total route stops, and target margin or density percentage.
Use it when reviewing cylinder routes, microbulk deliveries, dewar exchange routes, or bulk gas delivery stop economics.
It computes the percentage of total route stops that are profitable or on-plan and the gap between that figure and your target margin.

Formula used

Route density margin = profitable or on-plan delivery stops ÷ total delivery stops on route × 100
Route density margin gap to target = route density margin - target route density margin

Inputs explained

Profitable or on-plan delivery stops:
Total delivery stops on route:
Target route density margin:

How to use the result

Use it during route reviews, territory rebalancing, or when deciding whether to keep, merge, or reprice a delivery route.
It treats every stop as equally weighted; a single high-volume bulk-liquid stop can carry a route economically even at low stop-count density, which this ratio won't capture.

Current U.S. benchmarks

Global copper trades at $13,484 per tonne (IMF via FRED, May 2026), up 41.5% in a year, and U.S. industrial electricity averages 8.66 cents per kWh. Both feed electrified-hardware unit economics.

Common questions

How do you calculate route density margin? Divide profitable or on-plan stops by total stops and multiply by 100. With 32 profitable stops out of 40 total, that's 32 ÷ 40 × 100 = 80% route density margin.
What is a good route density margin? For cylinder and packaged-gas routes, 80 to 90% on-plan stops is healthy; below 75% the route is usually carrying too many unprofitable or off-schedule stops. Bulk-liquid routes can run lower stop density if individual drops are large.
What does the gap to target mean? It's the difference between your actual margin and your target. Here 80% actual against an 85% target leaves a 5-point gap — meaning roughly 2 of the 40 stops need to convert from unprofitable to on-plan to hit target.
Why is route density so important for gas delivery? Cryogenic trailers and cylinder trucks have high fixed cost per route-day. The more profitable stops you pack into the same drive, the lower your cost-to-serve per delivery. Thin routes spread that fixed cost over too few paying stops.
How do I improve a low route density margin? Enforce minimum order quantities, consolidate adjacent thin routes, shift small accounts to less-frequent delivery cycles, and reprice off-plan stops. Each of these raises the profitable-stop share without adding drive time.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.