In The News

Trucking operational costs highest in 4 years for 2011

ARLINGTON, Va.  — By the pinch in their pocketbooks, truckers and carriers knew it already: Operational costs have risen steadily since 2010, with fuel prices and driver wages taking the largest bites, according to a recent study.

The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) Sept. 12 released the findings of its 2012 update to “An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking.”

The research, which identifies trucking costs from 2008 to 2011 derived directly from fleet operations, provides a high-level benchmarking tool and government agencies with real world data for future infrastructure improvement analyses.

The average marginal cost per mile for 2011 was $1.71, the highest of the four years studied.

After a sharp decline in fuel prices resulted in decreased industry costs between 2008 and 2009, industry costs have steadily risen through 2010 and 2011.  Fuel and driver wages (excluding benefits) continued to be the largest cost centers for carriers, together constituting 62 percent of the average operating cost in 2011.

“Accurate, up-to-date operational costs are essential for our industry.  Given the current economic climate, the more financial data carriers have to analyze, the more opportunities there are to improve operations,” said Chad England, chief operating officer of C.R. England Inc. and a member of ATRI’s Research Advisory Committee.

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 the report is available from ATRI at www.atri-online.org.

ATRI is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit research organization.  It is engaged in research relating to freight transportation’s essential role in maintaining a safe, secure and efficient transportation system.

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