Carrier spending on fleet equipment upgrades and increases in driver pay more than offset lower fuel prices in 2014, according to the annual Operational Costs of Trucking report issued Sept. 28 by the American Transportation Research Institute.
The average marginal cost-per-mile for carrier operations rose in 2014 more than three cents to $1.703, according to ATRI’s study, up from 2013’s $1.676. ATRI surveyed carriers that in total account for 54,833 tractors and/or trucks. See the percentage breakdown above for respondent fleets’ size.
Here’s where carrier costs shrunk:
Fuel still remained carriers’ largest per-mile cost, 58.3 cents a mile in 2014, but its share of per-mile spending fell from 38 percent to 34 percent. The per-mile average cost of fuel in 2014 fell 6.2 cents from 2013’s 64.5 cents per mile.
The only other line item to drop in 2014 was spending on permitting and licensing, which fell half a penny to 2.3 cents a mile, according to the report.
Here’s where they rose:
Driver wages and equipment and maintenance costs saw significant jumps, with driver pay rising 5 percent from 2013 and a equipment and maintenance costs climbing 41 percent.
