WASHINGTON — A new report from American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council and Decisiv Inc. indicates parts and labor costs fell in the fourth quarter of 2025.
“Across the industry, fleets are called upon to manage fluctuating costs with consistent service approaches,” said Tim Hardin, president, CEO of Decisiv. “The moderation in costs seen in the current Decisiv/TMC Parts & Labor Service Benchmark Report illustrates how this is being addressed at shops using effective management practices.”
After rising in Q3 2025, combined parts and labor costs in the Decisiv/TMC Parts & Labor Service Benchmark Report decreased by 1.3 percent. The drop in Quarter-over-Quarter (QoQ) combined expenses included -0.4 percent lower parts costs and a -2.6 percent reduction in labor costs. This across-the-board moderation followed sizable cost increases in Q3 2025 seen in 3.8 percent higher combined expenses during the previous quarter.
Parts and Labor Costs Increase
Year-over-Year (Y/Y) in Q4 2025, combined parts and labor costs increased 2.0 percent, continuing a year-long upward trend. However, this contrasts with the previous quarter when both parts and labor costs rose Y/Y. In the current quarter parts costs jumped by 3.7 percent while labor costs fell by -0.4 percent.
The drop in quarterly costs reflects lower freight volumes and mileage. For Q4 2025, the American Trucking Associations advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index average fell 1.8 percent from the third quarter and was down 0.3 percent compared to the final three months in 2024. These low levels of trucking volumes, according to ATA, were suppressed by soft manufacturing and construction activity. For 2025 in total, tonnage rose just 0.1 percent over the 2024 average.
In Q4 2025, combined parts and labor cost increases were recorded in 10 of the 25 VMRS Systems tracked in the Decisiv TMC Benchmark Report, seven fewer than in the previous quarter. QoQ parts cost rose in 10 systems, also seven less than in Q3, and labor costs were up in just seven systems, down considerably from 15 systems in the previous quarterly analysis.
Y/Y combined parts and labor costs were higher in 16 VMRS Systems, one more than in the previous quarter. Parts costs were up in 19 systems, four more than in the previous YoY analysis, while 11 systems with higher Y/Y labors represented four fewer than in Q3 2025.
Expanding Datatset
“To provide a highly accurate understanding of service costs, the Decisiv TMC Benchmark Report is now based on a more extensive dataset,” ATA said. “The result of greater encoding precision that adds cost information across all VMRS codes included in the quarterly data, the report now presents an improved view of service costs for deeper activity and trend analyses.”
The Decisiv/TMC Parts & Labor Service Benchmark is based on comprehensive service data. For the report, Decisiv collects and analyzes parts and labor costs for 25 VMRS system-level codes. These codes account for more than 97 percent of total parts and labor spending on more than seven million assets during 300,000+ monthly maintenance and repair events at 5,000+ service locations.
Data Driving Fleet Decisions
“This quarter’s data on various parts and labor categories is welcome news for fleets,” said Robert Braswell, TMC executive director. “The information delivered in the Decisiv/TMC Parts & Labor Service Benchmark continues to provide Council members an excellent means of comparing how their operations are performing to industry trends so they can take action accordingly to changing industry conditions.”
TMC issues the reports to its fleet members. The reports are organized based on the Council’s VMRS, sorted by VMRS-coded vehicle systems and geographic location.
TMC fleet members will receive the report via email. For more information on joining TMC, call (703) 838-1763 or 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.
