WASHINGTON, June 25,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Transportation
Research Institute (ATRI) released today the findings of its 2024
Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking. This
annual report analyzes line-item costs, operating efficiencies, and
revenue benchmarks by fleet sector and size, providing crucial
benchmarking for motor carriers and a comprehensive overview of the
financial state of trucking for decisionmakers in both industry and
government.
The overall marginal costs of operating a truck hit $2.270 per mile in 2023. While the increase
was only 0.8 percent over the previous year, when
surcharge-protected fuel costs are excluded, marginal costs rose
6.6 percent to $1.716 per mile.
Overall, 2023 expenses rose moderately across most categories,
with average costs across line-items increasing at less than half
the rates experienced during 2021 and 2022. Truck and trailer
payments grew by 8.8 percent to $0.360 per mile, driver wages grew by 7.6 percent
to $0.779 per mile, and repair and
maintenance costs grew by 3.1 percent to $0.202 per mile. The exception to this
trend was truck insurance premiums, which grew by 12.5 percent to
$0.099 per mile after two years of
negligible change.
The soft 2023 freight market posed many challenges for
operational efficiency, as tracked in the report. Deadhead
mileage, a critical financial drain, rose to an average of 16.3
percent for all non-tank operations, and driver turnover rose by
five percentage points in the truckload sector.
These pressures combined with low freight rates strained
profitability across the industry. Average operating margins
were 6 percent or lower in all fleet sizes and sectors other than
LTL. The truckload and specialized sectors experienced drops
in per-mile or per-truck revenue, and most saw "other costs" –
expenses outside of the core marginal line-items – increase as a
share of total revenue.
The report also includes analyses of cost trends in 2024 and
beyond, including, for the first time, carrier-reported changes in
Q1 2024 costs.
"The current economic environment makes cost management
essential to successful operations," said Gregg Troian, PGT Trucking President.
"ATRI's Operational Costs report provides the targeted costs
and operational benchmarks necessary to identify opportunities for
reducing expenses and how to best act on those opportunities in our
fleet."
The full report is available on ATRI's website here.
Participating carriers receive a customized report directly
comparing their operations to an anonymized peer group of the same
sector and size.
ATRI is the trucking industry's 501c3 not-for-profit research
organization. It is engaged in critical research relating to
freight transportation's essential role in maintaining a safe and
efficient transportation system.
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SOURCE American Transportation Research Institute