The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) released the findings of its 2013 update to “An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking.” The research, which identifies trucking costs from 2008 through 2012 derived directly from fleets' financial and operational data, provides carriers with an important high-level benchmarking tool and government agencies with real world data for future infrastructure improvement analyses.
The average marginal cost per mile in 2012 was $1.63, a slight decrease from the $1.71 found in 2011. After the Great Recession and a sharp decline in fuel prices resulted in decreased industry costs between 2008 and 2009, industry costs steadily rose through 2010 and 2011. The slight decrease in average operating costs in 2012 was most likely due to the weak economic recovery and softening freight conditions experienced in the second half of the year.
"Although we have seen conditions improve since the Great Recession of several years ago, an uncertain economic future means we have to be ever diligent in watching costs,” says Phil Byrd Sr, president and CEO of Bulldog Hiway Express and first vice-chairman of the American Trucking Associations. “ATRI's report provides critical financial data for carriers to use in benchmarking fleet performance and seeking opportunities for improved operations."
Since its original publication in 2008, the Operational Costs of Trucking reports continue to be one of the most requested ATRI reports among industry stakeholders. In addition to average costs per mile, ATRI's report documents average costs per hour and includes cost breakouts by industry sector.
A copy of this report is available from ATRI at www.atri-online.org.