Doug Marcello |
Why It Matters The value of safety and risk is not theoretical. ATRI’s Annual Operational Cost of Trucking Study quantifies its value and importance to the bottom line. And with anticipated premium increases, it is now more vital than ever to reduce risk so that an insurance captive is a financially viable alternative for your company.The Big Picture I recently wrote that safety was an investment, not a cost. Management and operations should not think of it as a burden, but as a protection of the bottom line. This value is brought home by ATRI’s Annual Operational Cost of Trucking Study for 2024. Get a copy at: An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking: 2024 Update (truckingresearch.org) Insurance and risk are major expenses. The report quantifies the amount and demonstrates the crucial need to act to minimize this exposure. The Numbers Average Marginal Cost of Insurance Premium Think about it: Your insurance costs you ten cent for every mile you run. Four dollars for every hour your truck operates. Consider that in relation to your rates. And your bottom line. The bad news—in 2014 premiums were $.071/mile and $2.86/hour. That’s an increase of almost three cents per mile and almost $1.20/hour. I became an attorney to avoid math, so check me. And I defer to the mathematically inclined to do the percentages. These costs per mile vary per region of the country:
And LTL’s—average cost at $0.045/mile. Increase 2022-2023 The only item to increase more was tolls (21.4%). Wages “only” increased 7.6% and benefits only 2.7%. Worse news—the “word” is that last year’s premium increase percentage will pale in comparison to this year. I’m hearing increases of 15%-25% this year. The Total Cost of Risk More importantly, it was a key element of the ATRI study on Impact of Rising Insurance Costs on the Trucking Industry: The Impact of Rising Insurance Costs on the Trucking Industry (truckingresearch.org) “Total Cost of Risk”? Premium plus deductible/retention plus cost of risk reduction technology. ATRI analyzed the first two—premium plus the out-of-pocket deductible/retention amount. The overall industry average out-of-pocket expense per mile was $0.036 in 2023 (or $1.44 per hour). That would make a total (premiums + out-of-pocket expenses) of $0.135 per mile or $5.43 per hour. What it found, per the combined premium plus out-of-pocket expenses based on fleet size, was as follows:
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Federal appeals court finds overtime pay exemption for interstate truckers applies to intrastate oilfield drivers
Tyson Fisher A federal appellate court has found that although Texas oil tanker drivers never leave the Lone Star state, they are still involved in interstate commerce and therefore exempt from overtime pay. Earlier this year, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals...