Report finds repair costs rising for industry

Repair costs are rising above inflation and benchmarking study also finds miles between roadside repairs unchanged with room for improvement

The average cost of mechanical repairs in the trucking industry increased for the second straight quarter, while miles between unscheduled roadside maintenance remained unchanged, according to the latest Truckload Vertical Benchmarking Study from American Trucking Associations' Technology & Maintenance Council and FleetNet America, an ArcBest company.

During the fourth quarter the average participating truckload carrier ran 10,663 miles between breakdowns, 3% less than the same quarter previous year.  The top performing participating fleet operated with one breakdown every 75,528 miles, this was a new industry best for miles between unscheduled maintenance.

The average cost of a roadside mechanical repair increased to $334 in the fourth quarter, up from $317 in the third quarter and $299 in the second quarter. This is a nearly 12% increase from Q2 to Q4 and is therefore running high above inflation.

"This is a clear indication that fleets can reduce their roadside repairs, driving down costs and improving customer service," said Jim Buell, executive vice president of sales and marketing for FleetNet America. "If one fleet can run 75,000 miles between breakdowns, why can't all fleets in the industry?  It's a matter of using data to direct where you have the best opportunities to improve."

The program is a strategic collaboration between TMC/ATA and FleetNet America and is open to TMC fleet executive level members and FleetNet America customers.  The analytics provided via the program will be cumulative and non-fleet specific.  For information about the TMC/FleetNet Vertical Benchmarking Program, visit http://benchmarkit.fleetnetamerica.com.

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