Trucking costs declined 0.4% in 2024, according to the latest An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking report from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), thanks mostly to a drop in fuel prices.
Take lower fuel prices out of the equation and trucking costs actually grew 3.6% to $1.779 (all figures USD) per mile, the highest ever recorded by ATRI.
Driver wages rose by 2.4% in 2024, while fuel and maintenance costs declined from 2023 levels.
Carriers were hardest hit by increases in truck and trailer payments (+8.3% to a record $0.39 cents/mile) and driver benefits costs (+4.8% to $0.197 cents/mile).
ATRI reports carrier profits suffered due to the higher costs with average operating margins below 2% in all sectors other than LTL. The truckload sector had an average operating margin of -2.3%.
Truck capacity was down 2.2% on the year with empty miles rising to an average of 16.7%. Carriers adjusted by trimming capacity and eliminating non-driving staff by 6.8%.
“The trucking industry is facing the most challenging freight market in years, with loads down and costs increasing,” said Groendyke Transport president and CEO Greg Hodgen. “ATRI’s operational costs data and the customized benchmarking report that compares us to similar fleets are more critical than ever as we navigate rising costs and decreasing margins in this adverse environment.”
The full report can be downloaded here.
