09/04/2026
The cost to run a truck just went up again.
ATRI's 2026 benchmarking report puts the average cost to operate a commercial motor vehicle at $2.336 per mile: a 3.4% increase, or 7.6 cents per mile, over 2024.
And here's a number that doesn't get talked about enough: driver detention now averages 1 hour and 49 minutes per stop.
That's almost two hours per stop where a truck isn't moving, isn't earning, and isn't delivering. Multiply that across a week of stops and it's not a rounding error. It's a real hit to productivity and margin, on top of rising fuel, insurance, and maintenance costs.
If you're building rates, budgeting for next year, or just trying to explain to a shipper why the number on the page looks different than it did in 2024, this is the data to point to.