Fuel, Wages Largest Percentage of Operational Costs
ARLINGTON, VA — Operational costs continue to rise, according to the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking, released today.
The average marginal cost per mile for 2011 was $1.71, the highest of the four years studied, ATRI said in a statement. 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, they noted.
Industry costs like fuel and driver wages — the two largest costs for carriers. Together, they made up 62 percent of the average operating cost in 2011.
The research, which looks at trucking costs from 2008 to 2011 and is pulled directly from fleet ops, can be used as a benchmarking tool for carriers.
“Accurate, up-to-date operational costs are essential for our industry,” said Chad England, COO of C.R. England, and a member of ATRI’s Research Advisory Committee.
“Given the current economic climate, the more financial data carriers have to analyze, the more opportunities there are to improve operations.”
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