{"id":1238,"date":"2026-08-31T10:27:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T10:27:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/?p=1238"},"modified":"2026-10-13T11:42:24","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T11:42:24","slug":"2026-trucking-operating-costs-every-small-fleet-should-monitor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/2026-trucking-operating-costs-every-small-fleet-should-monitor\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Trucking Operating Costs Every Small Fleet Should Monitor"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article\">\n<div id=\"lead\" class=\"lead\">ATRI released its 2026 operating-cost report in August using 2025 carrier data. That benchmark is useful, but your own truck, lanes, equipment, and business structure determine your real cost.<\/div>\n<div id=\"body\">\n<div class=\"rate-bullets\" >\n<h2>What the 2026 report showed<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Average operating cost reached $2.336 per mile in 2025.<\/li>\n<li>Total cost increased 3.4% from the previous year.<\/li>\n<li>Cost excluding fuel rose 4.2% to $1.854 per mile.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Numbers every small fleet should track<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Fuel cost per mile<\/li>\n<li>Equipment payments and interest<\/li>\n<li>Insurance<\/li>\n<li>Maintenance and tires<\/li>\n<li>Driver pay and benefits<\/li>\n<li>Tolls, permits, technology, and overhead<\/li>\n<li>Empty miles, detention, and downtime<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Do not overlook downtime<\/h2>\n<p>The repair invoice is only part of the cost. Towing, hotels, missed loads, replacement equipment, lost driving time, and customer problems can make one breakdown far more expensive.<\/p>\n<div class=\"key\">A national benchmark shows the direction of the industry. Your own updated cost per mile tells you whether a specific load works for your business.<\/div>\n<h2>Calculate your own cost per mile<\/h2>\n<p>Add the operating costs for a consistent period, then divide by all business miles driven during that period. Use loaded and empty miles. Leaving out deadhead makes the cost look lower than it really is.<\/p>\n<h3>Fixed costs<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Truck and trailer payments<\/li>\n<li>Insurance<\/li>\n<li>Licensing, permits, and subscriptions<\/li>\n<li>Office and administrative overhead<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Variable costs<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Fuel and DEF<\/li>\n<li>Maintenance and tires<\/li>\n<li>Tolls and scales<\/li>\n<li>Driver pay tied to miles or loads<\/li>\n<li>Parking, lodging, and other trip expenses<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Use more than one number<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>All-in cost per mile:<\/strong> The full cost of keeping the business operating.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Trip cash cost:<\/strong> The cash required to run a particular load right now.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Maintenance cost by unit:<\/strong> Helps identify equipment that is becoming expensive to keep.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Revenue per all mile:<\/strong> Shows what the truck earned after empty miles are counted.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Review the numbers monthly and after a large change in fuel, insurance, equipment payments, or maintenance.<\/p>\n<h2>Archive notice<\/h2>\n<p>This article reflects the ATRI report released in August 2026 using 2025 data. Readers should use the newest available report and their own current operating records.<\/p>\n<h2>How Capital Depot can help<\/h2>\n<p>If customer payment timing is putting pressure on fuel, repairs, insurance, or payroll, Capital Depot can help approved carriers explore a more predictable funding process.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"download\"><a class=\"source-link\" href=\"https:\/\/truckingresearch.org\/2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Original source: https:\/\/truckingresearch.org\/2026\/<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"insight-contact\">\n<div class=\"insight-contact-main\">\n<p>Have questions about what this means for your trucking business? Call Capital Depot and let us help.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"insight-call site-btn yellow-btn \" href=\"tel:+18474701687\" aria-label=\"Call Capital Depot at 847-470-1687\"><br \/>\n            <svg class=\"insight-call-phone\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n              <path d=\"M6.6 10.8c1.8 3.5 3.1 4.8 6.6 6.6l2.2-2.2c.3-.3.7-.4 1.1-.3 1.2.4 2.5.6 3.8.6.6 0 1 .4 1 1V20c0 .6-.4 1-1 1C10.8 21 3 13.2 3 3.7c0-.6.4-1 1-1h3.5c.6 0 1 .4 1 1 0 1.3.2 2.6.6 3.8.1.4 0 .8-.3 1.1l-2.2 2.2z\"><\/path>\n            <\/svg><br \/>\n            <span class=\"a\">CONTACT US<\/span><br \/>\n          <\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ATRI reported that the industry-average cost to operate a truck reached $2.336 per mile in 2025, the highest level in its study. <a href=\"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/2026-trucking-operating-costs-every-small-fleet-should-monitor\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1248,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[19],"class_list":["post-1238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-insights","tag-2026-operating-costs"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1238"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1298,"href":"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1238\/revisions\/1298"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simpleseogroup.co\/capitalDepot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}