The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) has released its 2025 report on trucking operational costs, revealing that the average cost of operating a truck in 2024 was $2.260 per mile, down 0.4% from the previous year. However, excluding lower fuel costs, marginal costs rose 3.6% to a record $1.779 per mile. While fuel and maintenance costs declined, other expenses like truck and trailer payments and driver benefits saw significant increases. Driver wages rose modestly by 2.4%, below the inflation rate. Amid an ongoing freight recession, profitability dropped across all sectors except LTL, with truckload margins averaging -2.3%. Carriers responded by reducing truck capacity, cutting staff, and parking trucks, though some performance metrics like truck age and breakdown rates improved. Greg Hodgen of Groendyke Transport emphasized the importance of ATRI’s data in navigating today’s challenging market.
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