The trucking industry plays a vital role in transporting goods across the U.S. Over the years, the industry has evolved, embracing technological advancements and adapting to changing market conditions. One such condition is the steady upward trend of the operational costs of trucking, which reached a record-high in 2022 — only for that record to be broken in 2023. ATRI’s recent cost analysis update “found that the marginal costs of trucking, while increasing by just 0.8 percent over [2022], reached a new high of $2.270 per mile.”
“On the one hand, many of the high-level macroeconomic conditions that challenged businesses in 2022 moderated,” according to the report.
In 2023 inflation rates cooled to 3.4 percent, GDP growth improved significantly in the second half of the year, and many cost centers in the trucking industry stabilized. In the freight market, however, contract and spot rates both fell steadily over the year, as did freight shipments, spend, and tonnage. All of these developments put a strain on industry costs and operations.
Fuel, which accounted for a significant portion of the operational cost increase in 2022 actually fell in 2023, moving from $.64 to $.55 cents per mile. Alternative fuel use among respondents jumped to 12.8 percent versus 8.2 percent in 2022, with CNG dominating and hydrogen fuel cell trucks making the list for the first time. Other cost centers, such as truck and trailer payments, repair and maintenance and driver wages, all rose, though at reduced rates compared with 2022. Overall, non-fuel trucking costs rose 6.6 percent in 2023 versus 2022, but the early part of 2024 shows promise. “Carrier fuel and tire expenses were trending downward in Q1 2024 as were used Class 8 truck prices, and changes in repair and maintenance cost increases are below inflation.”
Make-up of the Sample Group
The ATRI report represents a significant portion of the trucking industry, covering data from 150,869 truck tractors, 395,934 trailers and more than 11.97 billion vehicle miles traveled in 2023. The sample group includes fleets of various sizes, with the majority consisting of smaller to medium fleets — reflecting the national trend — as fleets with 10 or fewer trucks make up the majority of motor carriers registered with the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT).
Regional Costs
The trucking industry is responsible for transporting the majority of domestic products in the U.S., with regional trucking remaining the most common trip length among fleets. According to the ATRI report, though, some regions are much more costly to operate in than others. “The Northeast reclaimed its spot as the most expensive region in which to operate in 2023 after briefly being surpassed by the Southeast in 2022 [though the] Southeast retained the highest costs in driver benefits.”
Sector Costs
Different sectors within the trucking industry incur varying costs. The ATRI report found that truckload carriers had the lowest average total marginal cost, while LTL surpassed the specialized sector for highest cost in 2023. Both the truckload and specialized sectors saw reduced costs from 2022 to 2023, while LTL increased; these differences are largely due to fuel costs among the sectors.