From August to October 2026, our research team built a weighted model that calculated trucking operating costs by applying the American Transportation Research Institute’s early-2026 trend data to its full-year 2025 line items, repricing fuel at this year’s diesel prices tracked by AAA, and layering in equipment, maintenance, and insurance data from FleetOwner, Fleet Maintenance, Marquee Insurance Group, and the International Council on Clean Transportation. The trend it revealed was intriguing: running one Class 8 truck now costs an estimated $2.57 per mile, or about $220,600 a year, the highest level on record.
Average Cost to Run a Trucking Company by Operating Model: 2026
The table below compares estimated 2026 operating costs across five fleet tiers, from single-truck owner-operators to carriers running more than 1,000 trucks. Driver pay is held at the national average for every tier, so the gaps come from fuel, maintenance, insurance, and equipment.
| Operating Model | Est. Cost per Mile (2026) | Est. Annual Cost per Truck | Fuel per Mile | Insurance per Mile | Repair and Maintenance per Mile | Primary Cost Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owner-Operator or Fewer Than 5 Trucks | $2.67 | $229,900 | $0.73 | $0.17 | $0.28 | Retail fuel prices without volume discounts, only 42% of maintenance done in-house, and the highest premium rates in trucking |
| Small Fleet (5 to 25 trucks) | $2.62 | $225,500 | $0.69 | $0.16 | $0.24 | Partial fuel discounts and shared shop access, but insurance is still priced on a thin loss history |
| Mid-Size Fleet (26 to 100 trucks) | $2.62 | $225,100 | $0.66 | $0.17 | $0.22 | Premiums peak in this tier as fleets outgrow small-account pricing but lack the scale to self-insure |
| Large Fleet (101 to 1,000 trucks) | $2.53 | $217,500 | $0.64 | $0.12 | $0.20 | In-house shops handle up to 68% of maintenance, and negotiated fuel and premium rates take hold |
| Enterprise Fleet (1,000+ trucks) | $2.50 | $214,800 | $0.61 | $0.08 | $0.17 | Lowest fuel, repair, and premium rates, partly offset by 16.1% higher equipment spending in 2025 |
Scale is the single biggest discount in trucking. An owner-operator pays an estimated $15,100 more per truck each year than an enterprise carrier for the same 85,991 miles, almost entirely through fuel, maintenance, and insurance. Large fleets do not escape risk costs, though, since carriers above 1,000 trucks absorb about $0.09 per mile in out-of-pocket claims and litigation that never appears as a premium.
Average Cost to Run a Trucking Company by Equipment Type: 2026
The table below shows what each major equipment type cost per mile in 2025 and what our model projects for 2026 once this year’s diesel run-up is priced in. Operating margins are included because a higher cost per mile does not always mean a less profitable operation.
| Equipment Type | Cost per Mile (2025) | Est. Cost per Mile (2026) | Est. Annual Cost per Truck | Operating Margin (2025) | Primary Cost Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry Van (Truckload) | $2.21 | $2.44 | $209,700 | 0.4% | Lowest equipment and tire spend, so cost tracks driver pay and fuel almost entirely |
| Refrigerated (Reefer)* | $2.36 | $2.62 | $225,100 | 0.6% | The refrigeration unit burns an estimated $0.06 per mile in extra diesel, plus spoilage claims and reefer unit repairs |
| Flatbed* | $2.40 | $2.64 | $227,400 | -0.5% | Securement gear, tarps, and the industry’s worst reliability, at 27,722 miles between breakdowns for specialized fleets |
| Tanker and Hazmat* | $2.43 | $2.67 | $230,000 | 4.0% | Higher federal liability limits, hazmat permits, and specialized cleaning and inspection requirements |
| Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) | $2.58 | $2.81 | $241,400 | 11.6% | Terminal networks, dock labor, and frequent stops push non-fuel cost to $2.12 per mile |
*Reefer, flatbed, and tanker 2025 figures are modeled from ATRI’s specialized-sector average of $2.39 per mile.
Margin, not cost, separates these trailers. LTL is the most expensive equipment to run at an estimated $2.81 per mile in 2026, yet it posted an 11.6% operating margin in 2025 while flatbed carriers lost money on cheaper miles. Dry van remains the lowest-cost way to operate, roughly $31,700 a year less per truck than LTL, but at a 0.4% margin it has almost no cushion against a fuel spike like 2026’s.
Average Cost to Run a Trucking Company by Fuel and Power Source: 2026
The table below models the full per-mile cost of a Class 8 tractor under each major power source, holding driver pay, insurance, tires, and tolls at the national average. Diesel appears twice because 2026 prices swung from about $3.76 per gallon in February to a record $5.85 in September.
| Fuel and Power Source | Est. Cost per Mile (2026) | Est. Annual Cost per Truck | Energy Cost per Mile | Repair and Maintenance per Mile | Upfront Truck Price | Primary Cost Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diesel (2026 year-to-date average) | $2.57 | $220,600 | $0.67 | $0.22 | $170,000 to $200,000 | Fuel at an estimated $4.95 per gallon and 7.43 miles per gallon, plus aftertreatment repairs |
| Diesel (September 2026 peak) | $2.69 | $231,300 | $0.79 | $0.22 | $170,000 to $200,000 | A record $5.85 per gallon national average after the Strait of Hormuz disruption |
| Natural Gas (CNG or RNG) | $2.55 | $219,300 | $0.50 | $0.30 | Diesel price plus an estimated $50,000 to $70,000 | Cheaper fuel offset by the highest maintenance cost of any powertrain and costly onboard fuel tanks |
| Battery Electric (depot charged) | $2.38 | $204,700 | $0.30 | $0.14 | $250,000 to $430,000 | About 2 kWh per mile on commercial power, offset by a truck price 2.5 to 3 times higher than diesel |
| Hydrogen Fuel Cell | $5.24 | $450,600 | $2.86 | $0.20 | An estimated $500,000 or more | Hydrogen at $15 to $30 per kilogram and very few public fueling stations |
This year’s diesel spike flipped the operating math for electric trucks on regional routes. At our modeled 2026 diesel average, a depot-charged battery-electric truck runs about 19 cents per mile cheaper than diesel, a gap that widens to 31 cents at September’s record price, before counting $30,000 to $80,000 per truck in charging infrastructure. Hydrogen remains the outlier at roughly twice diesel’s cost, so diesel will stay the default for long-haul fleets that cannot plan routes around a charger.
Average Cost to Run a Trucking Company by Fleet Age: 2026
The table below tracks how repair, payment, and fuel costs shift as a Class 8 tractor ages, calibrated to ATRI’s $0.215 per mile repair average at a fleet age of 3.6 years. All other costs are held at the 2026 national average so the effect of age stands on its own.
| Truck Age | Est. Repair and Maintenance per Mile | Est. Annual Repair and Maintenance | Truck Payment per Mile | Fuel per Mile | Est. Total Cost per Mile (2026) | Primary Cost Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 1 Year | $0.08 | $6,900 | $0.33 | $0.60 | $2.40 | Full powertrain warranty and the newest fuel-efficient engines, offset by the highest payment |
| 2 to 3 Years | $0.15 | $12,900 | $0.31 | $0.64 | $2.49 | First brake jobs and tire replacements while major components remain under warranty |
| 4 to 5 Years | $0.22 | $18,900 | $0.26 | $0.67 | $2.54 | Warranties expire and emissions aftertreatment repairs begin |
| 6 to 7 Years | $0.28 | $24,100 | $0.12 | $0.69 | $2.49 | Many trucks are paid off near ATRI’s 7-year, 634,000-mile replacement cycle |
| 8 to 10 Years | $0.34 | $29,200 | $0.04 | $0.73 | $2.50 | Turbo, transmission, and injector failures, plus slipping fuel economy |
| 11+ Years | $0.42 | $36,100 | $0.02 | $0.76 | $2.59 | The highest repair bills, more roadside breakdowns, and more towing |
A paid-off truck is not a cheap truck. Falling payments almost exactly cancel rising repair and fuel bills between years 4 and 10, holding total cost near $2.50 per mile, but a truck past year 10 costs about $16,500 more per year to run than a new one. Downtime widens that gap further, since the average fleet now logs a breakdown or unscheduled repair every 36,891 miles, down from 38,249 in 2024.
Average Cost to Run a Trucking Company: The State by State Examine
The table below ranks all 50 states by the estimated cost to operate one Class 8 truck:
*State-to-region assignments follow Truck Writers’ grouping of ATRI’s five reporting regions. Ties are ranked by unrounded model values.
Geography alone adds up to $35,800 a year to the cost of running the same truck. California ranks first almost entirely on fuel, with diesel at $7.71 a gallon, while the Northeast fills the next 11 spots through the nation’s highest driver pay, tolls of $0.079 per mile, and litigation-heavy insurance markets. Midwest and South Central states anchor the bottom of the list, where diesel runs at or below $5.66 a gallon and driver compensation sits at the lowest level in the country.
What Running a Trucking Company Means for Expenses
Every operational profile in this report points the same direction: the average cost to run a trucking company has climbed from $1.86 per mile in 2021 to an estimated $2.57 in 2026, and this year’s diesel shock added more to that total than any other single line item. Fleet size, equipment, power source, truck age, and state each move the number independently, and they stack, so a single-truck flatbed operator in California faces a very different year than a 500-truck dry van fleet in Kansas. The common thread is that carriers control fewer of their costs every year, as fuel, insurance, tolls, and tariff-driven parts prices outpace the rates shippers pay, which makes an accurate cost per mile the most valuable number in the business.
Contact Truck Writers to compare your insurance costs against these 2026 benchmarks.
Sources
- Alex Leslie and Dan Murray. “An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking: 2026 Update.” American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI). July 15, 2026. https://truckingresearch.org/about-atri/atri-research/operational-costs-of-trucking/
- Jeremy Wolfe. “Trucking Operational Costs Hit Record $2.336 per Mile, ATRI Reports.” FleetOwner. July 22, 2026. https://www.fleetowner.com/operations/article/55392569/atri-report-breaks-down-class-8-truck-operating-costs-by-region-and-expense-category
- FleetOwner Staff. “ATRI Releases 2026 Trucking Operational Cost Report for Fleet Benchmarking.” FleetOwner. July 16, 2026. https://www.fleetowner.com/news/news/55391195/atri-releases-2026-trucking-operational-cost-report-for-fleet-benchmarking
- John Hitch. “M&R Cost per Mile Rose Nearly 9% in 2025: ATRI Study.” Fleet Maintenance. August 7, 2026. https://www.fleetmaintenance.com/shop-operations/data-and-telematics/article/55396219/american-transportation-research-institute-atri-trucking-costs-rise-as-fleets-face-higher-maintenance-and-replacement-expenses
- Transport Topics Staff. “Truck Operating Costs Rose 3.4% in 2025, ATRI Finds.” Transport Topics. July 2026. https://www.ttnews.com/articles/atri-truck-costs-2025
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- Marquee Insurance Group. “Trucking Expense Calculator.” Marquee Insurance Group. August 3, 2026. https://marqueeig.com/trucking-expense-calculator/
- Keeping Up With Inflation (AAA data). “Diesel Prices by State Ranked 2026: U.S. Average Hits Record $5.85.” Keeping Up With Inflation. September 4, 2026. https://keepingupwithinflation.com/diesel-prices-by-state-ranked/
- FleetRabbit (citing ICCT data). “EV vs Diesel Fleet Cost Comparison (2026 Guide).” FleetRabbit. 2026. https://fleetrabbit.com/blogs/post/ev-vs-diesel-fleet-cost-comparison
- AutoEdgeView. “Electric 18 Wheeler Truck Guide: Range, Cost and Fleet ROI in 2026.” AutoEdgeView. 2026. https://autoedgeview.com/ev-reviews/electric-18-wheeler-truck-range-cost-fleet-guide
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- Kenzie Thompson. “Average Cost of Trucking Insurance: A 2026 Breakdown.” Truck Writers. August 28, 2026. https://truckwriters.com/blog/average-cost-of-trucking-insurance/
- American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI). “ATRI’s Newest Operational Costs Research Documents Costliest Year Ever in Trucking.” ATRI. August 10, 2022. https://truckingresearch.org/2022/08/atris-newest-operational-costs-research-documents-costliest-year-ever-in-trucking/
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