Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Trucking parts and labor expenses stabilized in first quarter

Costs rose just 0.7% over fourth quarter, compared to 8% increase from one year earlier, ATA and Decisiv report says.

ATA Screen Shot 2023-06-14 at 1.50.24 PM.png

After climbing steeply for months, parts and labor expenses in the trucking sector stabilized during the first quarter of 2023, according to a report from the American Trucking Associations (ATA)’s Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) and Decisiv Inc. 

While high prices for parts and higher wages for labor during the past year are unlikely to return to earlier levels, the report shows a marked slowing of cost increases. Compared to the fourth quarter of last year those costs rose only 0.7%, a sizable drop when viewed against the more than 8% increase from one year earlier.


Broken into components, parts costs dropped by 0.4% and labor costs increased 2.3% between the fourth quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of this year, reflecting that new vehicles backordered for historically long periods are finally reaching end users, the report found.

There is also a general decrease in mileage across all trucking segments, driven down by a reduction in freight volumes. According to data released monthly by ATA, on-highway truck tonnage continues to fall annually, and on a month-to-month basis.

“Fleets are weathering the impact of aging trucks and higher parts prices, and are addressing the need for technicians,” Decisiv President and CEO Dick Hyatt said in a release. “The data that Decisiv collects and analyzes for the TMC Benchmark Report on Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standard system level codes clearly indicates that service costs are more stable.”

The information comes from the latest Decisiv/TMC North American Service Event Benchmark Report, which examines data in the system level codes used in Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standards (VMRS). VMRS is a coding convention used to manage fleets’ assets and analyze maintenance operation costs, according to the ATA.

The report analyzes data from Decisiv’s service relationship management (SRM) platform, which tracks service and repair events for more than 7 million commercial assets operating across the U.S. and Canada. The system is used to manage a weekly average of 70,000 service events at nearly 5,000 locations.
 
 

 

The Latest

More Stories

From pingpong diplomacy to supply chain diplomacy?

There’s a photo from 1971 that John Kent, professor of supply chain management at the University of Arkansas, likes to show. It’s of a shaggy-haired 18-year-old named Glenn Cowan grinning at three-time world table tennis champion Zhuang Zedong, while holding a silk tapestry Zhuang had just given him. Cowan was a member of the U.S. table tennis team who participated in the 1971 World Table Tennis Championships in Nagoya, Japan. Story has it that one morning, he overslept and missed his bus to the tournament and had to hitch a ride with the Chinese national team and met and connected with Zhuang.

Cowan and Zhuang’s interaction led to an invitation for the U.S. team to visit China. At the time, the two countries were just beginning to emerge from a 20-year period of decidedly frosty relations, strict travel bans, and trade restrictions. The highly publicized trip signaled a willingness on both sides to renew relations and launched the term “pingpong diplomacy.”

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

forklift driving through warehouse

Hyster-Yale to expand domestic manufacturing

Hyster-Yale Materials Handling today announced its plans to fulfill the domestic manufacturing requirements of the Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act for certain portions of its lineup of forklift trucks and container handling equipment.

That means the Greenville, North Carolina-based company now plans to expand its existing American manufacturing with a targeted set of high-capacity models, including electric options, that align with the needs of infrastructure projects subject to BABA requirements. The company’s plans include determining the optimal production location in the United States, strategically expanding sourcing agreements to meet local material requirements, and further developing electric power options for high-capacity equipment.

Keep ReadingShow less
map of truck routes in US

California moves a step closer to requiring EV sales only by 2035

Federal regulators today gave California a green light to tackle the remaining steps to finalize its plan to gradually shift new car sales in the state by 2035 to only zero-emissions models — meaning battery-electric, hydrogen fuel cell, and plug-in hybrid cars — known as the Advanced Clean Cars II Rule.

In a separate move, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also gave its approval for the state to advance its Heavy-Duty Omnibus Rule, which is crafted to significantly reduce smog-forming nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from new heavy-duty, diesel-powered trucks.

Keep ReadingShow less
screenshots for starboard trade software

Canadian startup gains $5.5 million for AI-based global trade platform

A Canadian startup that provides AI-powered logistics solutions has gained $5.5 million in seed funding to support its concept of creating a digital platform for global trade, according to Toronto-based Starboard.

The round was led by Eclipse, with participation from previous backers Garuda Ventures and Everywhere Ventures. The firm says it will use its new backing to expand its engineering team in Toronto and accelerate its AI-driven product development to simplify supply chain complexities.

Keep ReadingShow less
chart of global trade forecast

Tariff threat pours cold water on global trade forecast

Global trade will see a moderate rebound in 2025, likely growing by 3.6% in volume terms, helped by companies restocking and households renewing purchases of durable goods while reducing spending on services, according to a forecast from trade credit insurer Allianz Trade.

The end of the year for 2024 will also likely be supported by companies rushing to ship goods in anticipation of the higher tariffs likely to be imposed by the coming Trump administration, and other potential disruptions in the coming quarters, the report said.

Keep ReadingShow less