Truck operating costs are going up — and the numbers tell a bigger story

by TRUCKERS VA
(UNITED STATES)

p>What’s really happening with truck operating costs? If you’ve been looking at your expenses and wondering why it feels like every mile costs a little more, you’re not imagining things.

The American Transportation Research Institute’s latest Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking puts some hard numbers behind that feeling. According to ATRI’s 2026 report, the average cost to operate a truck reached $2.336 per mile in 2025 — a 3.4% increase from the previous year and the highest per-mile operating cost ATRI has recorded.

And here's where the story gets interesting.

The cost of running the truck keeps climbing

Fuel usually gets blamed first when trucking costs rise. But this year's numbers show that the problem is bigger than diesel.

When fuel is removed from the calculation, operating costs still increased 4.2%, reaching $1.854 per mile. In other words, even if you could magically make the fuel bill disappear, the truck would still be getting more expensive to operate.

ATRI reported increases across all major cost categories in 2025. The biggest percentage increases included:

• Tolls: up 13.2%
• Repair and maintenance: up 8.6%
• Driver benefits: up 6.6%
• Tires: up 6.4%

That's the part that can sneak up on a carrier or owner-operator. You don't necessarily get hit with one giant bill. Instead, you get nickel-and-dimed by a dozen different expenses until the nickel-and-dimes start looking like a mortgage payment.

Maintenance is becoming a bigger headache

Repair and maintenance costs jumped 8.6% in 2025. For anybody who has ever stared at a repair estimate while wondering whether the truck is actually worth fixing, that's not exactly comforting news.

Maintenance isn't optional. You can postpone some things, but eventually the truck collects its payment. Tires wear out. Parts need replacing. Trucks break down. And when equipment is sitting in a shop instead of moving freight, the expense isn't limited to the repair invoice.

There's also lost productivity.

And then there are tolls

ATRI says toll costs increased 13.2% in 2025, making tolls the fastest-growing major cost category in the report.

That's particularly interesting because tolls are one of those expenses a truck doesn't really get to negotiate with. You either pay the toll or take another route — and the “free” route may cost you extra miles,

fuel, and time.

So the cheaper route isn't always cheaper.

Here's where the numbers get uncomfortable

ATRI's report shows that driver pay increased at a slower rate than several other major operating expenses. Fuel and driver pay were among the line items that increased at sub-inflationary rates.

That creates an uncomfortable question for the industry:

If the cost of operating the truck keeps going up, how much of that increase eventually has to show up in freight rates — and how much gets absorbed by the carrier?

Because somebody has to pay the bill.

And when freight rates don't keep pace with expenses, the carrier's margin gets squeezed.

The bigger trucking picture

This is where simply saying “trucking costs are up” misses the bigger story.

Trucking can have strong freight demand and still have struggling carriers. It can have higher rates and still have operators watching their margins disappear. The health of the industry isn't determined by one number.

It's the difference between revenue per mile and cost per mile that really matters.

ATRI's latest numbers show why carriers have to pay attention to every part of the operation. Small increases across tolls, maintenance, benefits, tires, equipment and other expenses can add up quickly.

For an owner-operator, that's not some abstract industry statistic. That's money coming out of the same pocket that pays the truck note, insurance, groceries and everything else.

Bottom line

The trucking industry isn't simply dealing with a “fuel problem.” The cost of doing business is being pushed higher across multiple categories.

ATRI's latest report puts the average operating cost at $2.336 per mile — the highest level in the report's history.

So if you're a carrier or owner-operator, the lesson is pretty simple: know your numbers.

Don't guess what your truck costs to operate. Know your cost per mile. Know where the money is going. And know how much you actually need to make before that next load looks like a good deal.

Because in trucking, revenue can look impressive on paper.

It's what you keep after the truck gets finished eating that matters.

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