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

forklifts working in a warehouse

Averitt tracks three hurdles for international trade in 2025

Businesses engaged in international trade face three major supply chain hurdles as they head into 2025: the disruptions caused by Chinese New Year (CNY), the looming threat of potential tariffs on foreign-made products that could be imposed by the incoming Trump Administration, and the unresolved contract negotiations between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX), according to an analysis from trucking and logistics provider Averitt.

Each of those factors could lead to significant shipping delays, production slowdowns, and increased costs, Averitt said.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

legal scales and gavel

FMCSA rule would require greater broker transparency

A move by federal regulators to reinforce requirements for broker transparency in freight transactions is stirring debate among transportation groups, after the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published a “notice of proposed rulemaking” this week.

According to FMCSA, its draft rule would strive to make broker transparency more common, requiring greater sharing of the material information necessary for transportation industry parties to make informed business decisions and to support the efficient resolution of disputes.

Keep ReadingShow less
chart of robot use in factories by country

Global robot density in factories has doubled in 7 years

Global robot density in factories has doubled in seven years, according to the “World Robotics 2024 report,” presented by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR).

Specifically, the new global average robot density has reached a record 162 units per 10,000 employees in 2023, which is more than double the mark of 74 units measured seven years ago.

Keep ReadingShow less
person using AI at a laptop

Gartner: GenAI set to impact procurement processes

Progress in generative AI (GenAI) is poised to impact business procurement processes through advancements in three areas—agentic reasoning, multimodality, and AI agents—according to Gartner Inc.

Those functions will redefine how procurement operates and significantly impact the agendas of chief procurement officers (CPOs). And 72% of procurement leaders are already prioritizing the integration of GenAI into their strategies, thus highlighting the recognition of its potential to drive significant improvements in efficiency and effectiveness, Gartner found in a survey conducted in July, 2024, with 258 global respondents.

Keep ReadingShow less
retail store tech AI zebra

Retailers plan tech investments to stop theft and loss

Eight in 10 retail associates are concerned about the lack of technology deployed to spot safety threats or criminal activity on the job, according to a report from Zebra Technologies Corp.

That challenge is one of the reasons that fewer shoppers overall are satisfied with their shopping experiences lately, Lincolnshire, Illinois-based Zebra said in its “17th Annual Global Shopper Study.”th Annual Global Shopper Study.” While 85% of shoppers last year were satisfied with both the in-store and online experiences, only 81% in 2024 are satisfied with the in-store experience and just 79% with online shopping.

Keep ReadingShow less