For the second consecutive year, operational costs related to employees were higher than fuel costs in 2016, according to a report by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI).
The average cost per mile was $1.59, the report, An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking, said. Employee benefits increased 18 percent and driver wages grew 5 percent while fuel costs dropped 17 percent.
An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking has been released annually since 2008. Every year until 2015 the report listed fuel costs as carriers’ largest expense.
Low fuel costs and fuel-efficient technology along with increases in wages are responsible for the change.
Per mile, driver wages averaged 52.3 cents and benefits averaged 15.5 cents, both a 2.4-cent per-mile increase from the previous year.
Maintenance and repair costs averaged 16.6 cents per mile, and tires averaged 3.5 cents per mile.
Fuel costs dropped 33.6 cents per mile, but are forecasted to rise again. “With the same driver shortage factors holding firmly in place and a number of indications that average diesel prices will slowly rise,” the report said.
The number of carriers using electronic logging devices jumped to 74.8 percent.
The average revenue for survey respondents is $307.4 million annually with an average fleet of 838 power units.