Trucking Costs Just Hit Another Record. Here’s What You Can Control

If it feels like every mile costs more than it did a year ago, you are not imagining it. The trucking cost per mile just hit the highest level ever recorded, and the numbers back up exactly what you have been feeling at the pump, at renewal time, and every time a repair bill lands.

Here is the good news before we get into the damage. A real portion of that number is still in your hands, and the carriers holding their ground this year are the ones working those levers hard. Chasing better paying loads instead of just more loads, cutting the empty miles before you commit to a front haul, and knowing your own break even number cold are the three moves that separate a profitable month from a busy one. Everything below is how we would attack those this week.

What the record actually says

ATRI’s 2026 Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking, the industry’s most widely used benchmarking report, put the average trucking cost per mile at $2.336 in 2025. That is the highest cost per mile in the history of the report, up 3.4 percent in a single year. Strip fuel out of the equation and costs still climbed 4.2 percent to $1.854 per mile. Tolls jumped 13.2 percent. Repair and maintenance rose 8.6 percent. Driver benefits, tires and insurance all moved up too, and only two line items grew slower than inflation, which were fuel and driver pay.

Early 2026 data says the squeeze has not let up either. Insurance premiums, benefits and tolls kept climbing through the first quarter, and fuel jumped nearly 6 percent after staying flat most of last year.

You already knew that, because you feel it every time you fill the tank, renew a policy, or open a repair bill. What matters now is the part most market reports skip, which is what a small carrier or owner operator can actually do about it. Some of your operating costs are fixed, and your truck payment does not care what the spot market is doing. But a real portion of your cost per mile is not fixed at all. It moves based on the loads you take, the lanes you run, and the miles you drive empty.

So start with three things this week. Chase better paying loads instead of just more loads, because a load at a weak rate can still lose you money once deadhead, wait time and slow payment are factored in. Cut the empty miles, since deadhead is money you spend to earn nothing, and lining up the backhaul before you commit to the front haul is the whole game. And book smarter instead of busier, because one well chosen load beats three that keep your wheels turning for scraps. Now let’s go deeper on each one, plus a couple more that matter just as much.

Start with these three this week:

1. Chase better paying loads instead of just more loads, because a load at a weak rate can still lose you money once deadhead, wait time and slow payment are factored in.
2. Cut the empty miles, since deadhead is money you spend to earn nothing, and lining up the backhaul before you commit to the front haul is the whole game.
3. Book smarter instead of busier, because one well chosen load beats three that keep your wheels turning for scraps.

Now let’s go deeper on each one, plus a couple more that matter just as much.

Know your cost per mile cold

You cannot protect a margin you have not measured. The single biggest advantage a small carrier has right now is knowing its own trucking cost per mile down to the cent, then refusing any load that does not clear it.

The math is not complicated. Add up everything you spent last year, meaning fuel, payments, insurance, maintenance, tires, tolls, permits and your own pay, then divide by your total miles. That is your number. The industry average trucking cost per mile is $2.336, but yours might be higher or lower depending on your truck, your lanes and your insurance history.

Once you know your floor, a bad load stops looking tempting on a slow day. That discipline is worth more than any single negotiation trick, because it protects you on every load, not just one.

Deadhead is the quiet killer

Empty miles never show up on an invoice, which is exactly why they are so dangerous. Every deadhead mile burns fuel, hours of service and tire wear at the same record rates as a loaded mile, and it pays you nothing. ATRI’s own data flagged elevated deadhead mileage as one of the pressures carriers faced in 2025, right alongside rising costs.

The fix is planning, not luck. Before you take a load into a market, know what is coming out of it. Set load alerts on your regular lanes so return freight finds you instead of the other way around, and build the round trip in your head, or better, on a screen, before you say yes. Reducing empty miles is the fastest margin improvement most owner operators are leaving on the table, and it costs nothing but a few minutes of planning.

A good rate is not always a good load

A strong number from a broker who pays in 45 days is not the same as cash in your account. In a year when the trucking cost per mile is this tight, who you haul for matters as much as what you haul.

Before you book, confirm the broker’s authority is active. Look at payment history if you can get it. Ask about payment terms up front and treat slow pay as a real cost, because it is one. A load that pays 8 percent better but arrives in your account three weeks later can be the worse deal when your fuel card bill is due Friday.

Review the expenses you renew on autopilot

Insurance rose faster than almost anything else this year, and it is one of the few big costs where shopping around actually moves the number. Same with factoring rates, fuel card programs and maintenance plans. Once a year, pull every recurring expense and ask whether you would sign up for it today at that price. Most carriers find at least one line worth renegotiating.

Run the truck you have a little smarter

Fleets across the country responded to 2025 by running older trucks more miles rather than buying new ones, and small fleets cut equipment spending outright. If that is you, preventive maintenance is your best friend. Repair costs rose 8.6 percent last year, and the difference between a planned service and a roadside breakdown is measured in thousands, plus the load you lose while you sit.

Where we fit

This is the work we build for. Load alerts on your lanes so the right freight comes to you instead of you hunting for it. Rate tools included with your account so you know what a lane is really paying before you pick up the phone. Trip planning that shows you the deadhead before you commit, not after. It all exists for one reason, which is to help you make better decisions about the next load.

Log in, pull up your lanes, and look at what is moving this week. You cannot control the market, the toll authorities, or your insurance company. You can control the next load you take. In a record cost year, that is where the good weeks start.