Operating Costs Rose 4.2% in 2025, Outpacing Inflation by 1.5 Points

How much did trucking costs rise in 2025?

Trucking companies paid $1.854 per mile to operate in 2025, up 4.2% from 2024 when fuel is excluded, according to the American Transportation Research Institute's annual cost survey. That rate of increase ran 1.5 percentage points above the 2.7% consumer inflation rate for the same period.

Total operating costs including fuel hit $2.336 per mile, up 3.4% from $2.260 the year before. The fuel-excluded figure matters more to small fleets because many can pass fuel through a surcharge, but the base cost increase hits the settlement statement directly.

ATRI's 65-page report drew from carrier data across fleet sizes, though the sample skewed toward LTL carriers (47.8% of respondents versus 28% of the industry) and underweighted truckload (33.3% of respondents versus 57.3% of the industry). Freight rates and tonnage stayed flat compared to 2024, ATRI said, meaning the cost increases came straight out of margins.

Where the cost pressure showed up

No single line item spiked far above the others. Truck and trailer lease or purchase payments rose to 40.4 cents per mile from 39 cents. Repair and maintenance climbed to 21.5 cents from 19.8 cents. Insurance, frequently cited as a runaway cost, went to 10.6 cents per mile from 10.2 cents, a 3.9% increase that still ran 1.2 percentage points above consumer inflation. Tires moved to 5 cents per mile from 4.7 cents.

Driver wages rose 2.5% industry-wide, below the 2.7% inflation rate. That marked the second consecutive year wages lagged consumer prices. The split in 2024 was similar: 2.4% wage growth against 2.9% inflation. ATRI noted that drivers gave back some of the real income gains they captured during the 2021-2023 freight boom, when carriers pushed wages up aggressively to retain and recruit.

Driver benefits told a different story. Benefit costs jumped 6.6% between 2024 and 2025, well above the national inflation rate and the fastest-rising line item for the second year running. Benefits rose 4.8% from 2023 to 2024. The rate of growth held steady across most fleet sizes, though smaller fleets often do not offer significant benefits to begin with, ATRI said.

What small fleets paid drivers versus large carriers

Wages for 26-truck fleets ran just 4.5 cents per mile below those of 1,000-truck fleets, a narrow gap given the difference in scale. Average wages were lowest in fleets under 26 trucks and highest in fleets over 1,000 trucks.

Specialized carriers paid higher average wages in every size category except fleets over 1,000 trucks. The biggest gap appeared in the 101-to-250-truck segment, where specialized fleets averaged 95.3 cents per mile and truckload carriers paid 72.5 cents per mile.

Starting bonuses fell to $1,733 from $2,122 in 2024. The recent peak was $2,373 in 2022, during the post-pandemic bull market. Retention bonuses also dropped, declining to $1,474 from $1,832. Safety bonuses rose to $1,846 from $1,680, and fuel economy bonuses climbed to $1,548 from $1,235.

Turnover dropped as freight stayed soft

Driver turnover fell to 44.2% in 2025 from 48% a year earlier. ATRI attributed the decline to drivers being less inclined to switch jobs during a soft freight market with fewer open positions. The aggregate figure masks wide variation by fleet size. Truckload carriers with more than 1,000 trucks saw 70.7% turnover. Fleets with fewer than 26 trucks reported 32% turnover.

Insurance costs rose despite fewer crashes

FMCSA data showed injury crash rates were 15.3% lower in 2024 than the 2019 high, and fatal crashes were down 13.9%. Insurance costs still rose 3.9% between 2024 and 2025 to 10.6 cents per mile, running 1.2 percentage points above consumer inflation.

Early 2026 data suggests wage pressure may ease further

ATRI's report included preliminary data from the first two months of 2026. Carriers reported driver wage costs up 1.6% on average through February, putting the industry on track for a third consecutive year of sub-inflationary wage increases. That forecast may be outdated given other indications of what is happening to driver pay, but it reflects what carriers told ATRI early in the year.

What the 4.2% cost increase means for a 10-truck fleet

A carrier running 10 trucks at 100,000 miles per truck annually paid $7,500 more per truck in 2025 than in 2024, using ATRI's $1.854 per mile figure. That is $75,000 across the fleet. With freight rates flat, that cost increase came out of the bottom line unless the carrier raised rates or cut elsewhere. The inflation spike in May suggests 2026 may bring similar pressure, with consumer prices up 4.2% year-over-year and energy costs climbing faster.