NEWS & REPORTS

ATRI Report Shows Trucking Profitability Severely Squeezed by High Costs, Low Rates

Aug 12, 2025 | Reports

TRI has released the 2025 findings of its leading costs and performance benchmarking report, An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking.

 

The industry’s average cost of operating a truck in 2024 was $2.260 per mile, a 0.4 percent decline compared with the previous year. However, when lower fuel costs are excluded, marginal costs rose 3.6 percent to $1.779 per mile – the highest costs ever recorded by ATRI for non-fuel operating costs.

 

Operating cost trends varied by line-item in 2024. Fuel as well as repair and maintenance expenses each declined from 2023 to 2024, and driver wages – the primary contributor to cost increases in the three years following the COVID-19 pandemic – rose by just 2.4 percent, half a percentage point less than inflation. Given the present trucking industry recession, carriers were particularly hard-hit by growing costs in several line-items, including truck and trailer payments (which rose by 8.3 percent to a record-high $0.390 per mile) and driver benefits costs (which rose 4.8 percent to $0.197 per mile).

 

Carrier profitability suffered across all industry sectors under these pressures, as the findings show in stark detail. Average operating margins were below 2 percent in every sector aside from LTL, and the truckload sector had an average operating margin of -2.3 percent. (Read More)

 

 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL OPS COSTS REPORT

About the Author

NEWS & REPORTS

Buyer Beware

Scopelitis There has been recent news about increased enforcement related to ELDs, highlighting fraudulent activities that are being uncovered in the field by enforcement. Additionally, an increasing number of false logs are being cited roadside, and for the first...

Cybersecurity for Smaller Trucking Fleets and Owner-Operators

Ben Wilkins Heavy-duty trucking is a complex and varied industry. Anyone who has worked as an owner-operator or in a small to mid-sized trucking company knows that nearly everyone wears multiple hats, and there is no shortage of work to be done. It’s no wonder...

FMCSA offers details on proposed HOS-flexibility pilot programs

Matt Cole Following Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s announcement Monday of the launch of two hours-of-service-related pilot programs to kick off National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Tuesday unveiled details...

The DOT playbook – e-fotm

FMCSA investigators are given a training manual — over 1,000 pages long — that provides step-by-step instructions for performing audits, finding violations, and issuing penalties. Included are instructions for weeding out ELD falsification. Follow these steps — taken...

CATEGORIES