WASHINGTON — The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) is calling on for-hire motor carriers to participate in its annual Operational Costs of Trucking report.
“There are signs of growing opportunities for trucking in 2026, but only if fleets can maintain disciplined, nimble operations,” said Andrew Hadland., CFO, Hirschbach Motor Lines. “ATRI’s Operational Costs of Trucking and the customized report we receive as participants are important inputs for ensuring healthy performance in our costs and operations despite economic headwinds.”
Operational Costs of Trucking Report
“ATRI’s Operational Costs of Trucking is trusted by thousands of industry decisionmakers every year as a key barometer of freight market conditions and is the leading public benchmarking tool for motor carriers of all sectors, from owner-operators to 10,000+ truck fleets,” ATRI said.
The report tracks cost metrics such as driver pay, equipment expenditures, and insurance premiums as well as key performance indicators such as non-revenue mileage, driver utilization, mileage between breakdowns and revenue per truck per week.
Participation
All participating motor carriers receive a customized report that compares their costs and operations to an anonymized peer group of the same sector and size. New in 2026, customized reports for multi-year participants will also include year-over-year comparisons to more directly evaluate trends over time.
For-hire motor carriers are invited to participate by April 24. Data for the year 2025 can be submitted online or by PDF. Sample customized reports and other helpful information for participants are available here. All confidential data is protected and published only in anonymized averages.
To read the previous report, click here.
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
