Truck Repair Cost per Mile Hit 21.5 Cents In 2025

The Number

The American Transportation Research Institute put the average cost to run a truck in 2025 at $2.336 per mile, 3.4 percent higher than 2024. Take fuel out and costs rose 4.2 percent to $1.854 per mile.

Repair and maintenance was one of the fastest climbers. It rose 8.6 percent to 21.5 cents per mile. That figure covers parts, labor and roadside service. Tires are counted on their own line.

The same study found repair and maintenance costs are up 45 percent since 2019. Early first half 2026 carrier data shows another 2.4 percent increase.

Which Costs Rose the Most In 2025

Cost line	Change from 2024
Tolls	Up 13.2 percent
Repair and maintenance	Up 8.6 percent
Driver benefits	Up 6.6 percent
Tires	Up 6.4 percent
Total cost per mile	Up 3.4 percent

Figures from the ATRI release of July 15, 2026. ATRI said only fuel and driver pay rose slower than inflation.

That matters because margins were thin. ATRI reported truckload and refrigerated operating margins below 1.0 percent in 2025, and flatbed carriers averaged an operating loss of 0.5 percent. When the margin is under a penny on the dollar, a two cent jump in repair cost per mile is real money.

Source ATRI via Fleet Maintenance. Chart by Fleet Repaired.

Why Repair Bills Keep Climbing

Trucks Are Getting Older

Average truck age rose to 3.6 years in 2025 from 3.4 years, where it had sat since 2022. Fleets held trucks longer instead of replacing them, and older trucks cost more to keep running. ATRI puts the typical carrier replacement cycle at about 7 years and 634,000 miles.

Trucks Are Running More Miles

Average annual miles per truck rose 4 percent, from 82,677 to 85,991. More miles means more wear on brakes, tires and aftertreatment parts.

Breakdowns Are Coming Sooner

Average miles between breakdowns or unscheduled repairs fell from 38,249 in 2024 to 36,891 in 2025. By sector in 2025, LTL fleets went 49,884 miles between events, truckload fleets 32,894 and specialized fleets 27,722.

Parts Prices and Tariffs

Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum and other materials are believed to have raised repair parts prices, as reported by Fleet Maintenance. Labor was not the driver. Technician labor cost fell 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared with a year earlier.

What It Costs by Region

Region	Repair and maintenance, cents per mile
Northeast	22.1
West	21.9
Midwest	21.4
Southeast	19.8
South Central	19.4

Regional figures as reported by Fleet Maintenance from the ATRI study. A Northeast truck running 100,000 miles a year at 22.1 cents spends $22,100 on repair and maintenance. The same truck in the South Central region at 19.4 cents spends $19,400.

How Cost Grows With Truck Age

Brian Antonellis of Fleet Advantage gave Fleet Maintenance an estimate for a Class 8 truck running 100,000 miles a year. Year one runs about 2 cents per mile, or $2,000. Year six runs about 16.5 cents per mile, or $16,500. He noted those numbers leave out parts inflation. That is one company's estimate, but it shows the curve. Repair cost climbs fast as a truck ages, which is why the replacement decision and the repair budget are the same decision.

More Fleets Are Fixing Trucks in House

Fleets did 64.4 percent of their maintenance in house in 2025, up 4.6 percent from 2024. The share depends on size.

• Fleets over 100 trucks did up to 68 percent in house.
• Fleets with 5 to 100 trucks did about 55 percent.
• Fleets under 5 trucks did 42 percent.

Small fleets lean on outside shops the most. ATRI also found small carriers face higher repair costs because many buy older used equipment, per The Trucker.

Six Ways to Hold Repair Cost Down

We work on a lot of fleet trucks and vans. These are the moves that line up with what the ATRI numbers show.

1. Track cost per mile per unit, not per fleet. One old truck can hide inside a good average. Compare each unit to the 21.5 cent national number and your region's number.
2. Set a replacement trigger. When a unit's repair cost per mile passes a number you pick, it goes on the sell list. The Fleet Advantage estimate shows how fast that line comes.
3. Count breakdowns. If your miles between unscheduled repairs is below your sector's average, start with the units pulling it down.
4. Buy parts ahead on the items you replace on a schedule, like brake parts and filters, when tariff news points to price increases.
5. Keep a labor rate on file for at least two outside shops. Labor cost was flat in late 2025, so shop rates are worth comparing.
6. Read your warranty terms before every repair on a newer truck so you do not pay for work the maker owes you.

If you want to see how shop labor rates and trade costs compare in your area, trade cost and labor data can give you a starting point before you call for quotes.

About the Study

ATRI's 2026 update drew on data from more than 182,000 tractor trailers, about 5.2 percent of U.S. combination trucks, and nearly 15 billion miles, per Fleet Maintenance. Maintenance data came from Decisiv, ATA's Technology and Maintenance Council, Fullbay and Motor Information Systems. It is the best public benchmark we know of for long haul truck costs, but it skews toward tractor trailer fleets. Box truck and van fleets should treat it as a guide, not a match.