Analysis of Operational Costs of Trucking

In response to mounting infrastructure improvement needs and dwindling state budgets, policy makers, led by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), have begun embracing creative financing strategies. If the time/distance value of operating a truck is overstated, the benefits to the industry of these strategies (for example, congestion pricing) are likely over-stated too. Alternatively, programs that underestimate truck costs may also underestimate the benefits of increased program funding. There is a lack of accurate and publicly available information on the operational costs of trucking, defined as the full marginal cost of operating a truck one mile or one hour in standard operating conditions. Accurate cost figures are needed as inputs to transportation planning models to ensure that benefits to users are not over-inflated or that critical investment needs are not downplayed. The research objective focused on the identification of current, accurate motor carrier costs that derive from transportation system operations. ATRI developed, beta-tested and distributed a survey to a cross-section of for-hire motor carriers, representing the predominant industry sectors. Survey responses were aggregated and analyzed. When necessary, costs per mile (CPM) were converted to costs per hour (CPH) using an industry accepted average operating speed. Total marginal costs for the industry were $1.73 per mile and $83.68 per hour. Marginal costs were divided into vehicle- and driver-based. Top costs for carriers were diesel fuel/oil, driver wages and truck/trailer lease or purchase payments. The Specialized sector had the highest total marginal CPM, followed by the Less-than-Truckload (LTL) and Truckload (TL) sectors.