Parts and labor costs continued to decline in the first quarter, according to the latest survey by the Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) of the American Trucking Associations and Decisiv.
Combined parts and labor costs fell 1.7% in the first quarter, according to their latest benchmarking report.
“Lower parts and labor costs are welcome news for fleets, which have faced significant increases for much of the past few years,” said TMC Executive Director Robert Braswell. “This important parts and labor cost analysis report is an excellent tool to help Council members compare their job performance against industry trends and plan accordingly.”
The report covers costs in 25 VMRS codes. In Q4 2023, costs decreased by 1.4%. In the first quarter of this year, parts costs fell by 2.4% while labor costs fell by 0.8%.
On a year-over-year basis, combined costs fell 2.3%, but labor costs rose 0.9%.
“While more new trucks and greater availability of parts are helping commercial asset services realize an overall cost reduction, the continued lack of new technicians entering the workforce continues to increase labor costs,” said Decisiv’s president and CEO. , Dick Hyatt. . “Recent findings are certainly positive. Ongoing efforts by commercial asset services to streamline the management and execution of maintenance and repair activities are clearly playing a role in reducing costs.”
| Fleets are benefiting from the continued influx of new trucks and the resolution of supply chain issues, but the shortage of technicians continues to put upward pressure on labor costs. |
