ATRI Report Reveals Record Non-Fuel Trucking Costs Amid Recession

The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) has released its annual Operational Costs of Trucking report, revealing that while total per-mile costs declined slightly in 2024, core non-fuel expenses surged to all-time highs. The findings paint a stark picture of profitability pressures during what many consider the most challenging freight market in recent years.

Operating Cost Breakdown Highlights Shifting Pressures

• The average marginal cost per mile in 2024 was $2.260, down 0.4% from 2023.
• Excluding fuel, costs rose 3.6% to $1.779 per mile—a record for non-fuel expenses.
• Fuel and maintenance costs declined, but increases in equipment and benefits costs more than offset the savings.

“ATRI’s Operational Costs data... [is] more critical than ever as we navigate rising costs and decreasing margins,” said Greg Hodgen, CEO of Groendyke Transport.

Key non-fuel line-item increases:

• Truck and trailer payments: +8.3% to $0.390 per mile (a new high)
• Driver benefits: +4.8% to $0.197 per mile
• Driver wages: +2.4%, below inflation

Carrier Margins Deeply Impacted Across the Board

Nearly all sectors experienced severe margin compression:

• Truckload carriers reported an average -2.3% operating margin
• Only the LTL sector posted positive margins above 2%

As profitability deteriorated, carriers implemented a range of cost-control strategies:

• Capacity dropped 2.2% as companies sold trucks
• Empty miles rose to 16.7%
• Drivers per truck declined to 0.93
• Non-driver staff reductions reached 6.8%

Despite Challenges, Some Efficiency Metrics Improved

• Average truck age increased, but mileage between breakdowns improved
• Dwell time per stop decreased, signaling better time efficiency

These trends reflect operators’ push to maintain service levels and asset reliability.

Strategic Benchmarking Offered to Carriers

ATRI's full report is available here. Participating fleets will receive customized benchmarking reports that compare their results against anonymized peers by sector and fleet size. The benchmarking tool is intended to help carriers identify efficiency gaps and make targeted operational improvements.

Source: ATRI