Trucking Costs Just Hit a Record and Insurance Is Leading the Climb

A record number landed on July 15

The American Transportation Research Institute released its annual Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking on July 15, 2026, and the headline figure is the highest in the study's history. It cost an average of $2.336 per mile to run a truck in 2025, up 3.4 percent from the year before. Take fuel out of the math and the picture looks worse. Everything other than fuel came to $1.854 per mile, a jump of 4.2 percent. Trucking Info and Transport Topics both covered the release, and the takeaway reads the same either way. Costs are accelerating while margins are not.

Where the money actually went

ATRI found increases in nearly every major line item. Tolls led the way at 13.2 percent. Repair and maintenance rose 8.6 percent, driver benefits 6.6 percent, and tires 6.4 percent. Permits and licenses were the only category that went down. Fuel and driver pay both rose more slowly than inflation, which tells you something worth noticing. The pressure is not coming from the two costs owner-operators usually watch closest. It is coming from the ones that are easy to underestimate when you price a load.

Driver wages and benefits together reached $1.028 per mile, with wages alone at 81.8 cents and benefits adding 21 cents. Fleets also ran older equipment, and the average truck age rose to 3.6 years for the first time since 2022. Non-driver staffing was cut by 7.8 percent. That is what a third straight year of a soft freight market looks like from the inside.

Insurance is climbing again in 2026

The part of the report that matters most for anyone reading this is the early 2026 data. ATRI tracked first quarter cost indicators, and insurance premiums were the fastest rising cost of the group at 6.4 percent. Fuel came next at 5.9 percent, then driver benefits at 4.5 percent and tolls at 2.7 percent. The cost that led the increases in the opening months of this year was insurance.

None of that is a surprise if you have renewed a policy lately. Large verdicts, higher repair bills on newer trucks, and rising medical costs all feed into what underwriters charge. But a rising market does not mean every operator gets the same increase. Underwriters price your safety record, your radius, your equipment values, and your loss history. Two trucks running the same lane can land far apart on premium. That gap is the piece you can still influence.

Margins leave no room for guessing

ATRI reported that truckload and refrigerated carriers ran operating margins below 1.0 percent in 2025, and flatbed carriers actually posted a loss at negative 0.5 percent. Tank carriers reached 4.0 percent. Only LTL carriers and fleets above 1,000 trucks held healthy margins. Small fleets pulled back on truck and trailer purchases while the largest truckload fleets increased that spending by 16.1 percent.

Chad Marsilio, chief operating officer at PGT Trucking, said in the report that freight rates are finally turning a corner in 2026 but that carriers still need what he called "aggressive cost discipline." At a margin under one percent, one uncovered claim does not dent the year. It ends it.

What owner-operators can actually control

You cannot negotiate tolls or tire prices. You can make sure you are not overpaying for coverage, and that your limits still fit the operation you run today. A few things are worth checking this year. Start with whether your physical damage limit matches what your truck and trailer are actually worth, because paying premium on an inflated stated value is money gone. Then look at whether your motor truck cargo limit fits the freight you haul now rather than the freight you hauled when you bought the policy. Finally, ask whether your commercial auto liability limit is realistic given how verdicts have moved.

Cutting coverage to save money in a year like this is the wrong trade. Right sizing it is a different thing entirely. If you want a baseline for what operators are actually paying, our guide to what commercial truck insurance costs walks through the ranges and the factors that move them.

Get a rate built around how you run

With operating costs at a record and insurance leading the increases into 2026, the worst move is renewing on autopilot. We shop A-rated carriers for owner-operators and small fleets, and we move fast, so you can find out whether your current premium is actually competitive or just familiar. Call or text us at 423-264-4255 or request a quote and we will handle the shopping for you.