Trucking Costs are Highest Level Ever! Time to Try Triangle TBR Tires

The cost of operating a full-size truck in the U.S. grew nearly 13% in 2021 to its highest level ever, according to the latest research from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI).

With tires being one of the highest operating costs, fleets and owner operators are searching for lowest total cost of ownership – the acquisition price versus tread life, number of retreads and other key performance indicators. That’s where Triangle medium/heavy truck tires stand out!

CUSTOMER FEEDBACK ON TRIANGLE TBR TIRES
“They are just really, really good tires,” says Jamie LaRoche, owner of Twin Valley Tire in South Dakota — one of the region’s largest commercial tire dealers. “They run well. No rapid wear. Great performance all around. My team sells Triangle with a lot of confidence because of feedback from our customers.”

LaRoche says Twin Valley Tire does particularly well with the Triangle TRD01 fuel efficient closed shoulder drive tire, TRD05 open shoulder drive tire, TRS02 regional all-position tire and the TRS01 fuel efficient steer/all-position tire.

A TOUGH ENVIRONMENT FOR TRUCKING
The marginal cost of trucking grew 12.7% in 2021 to $1.86 per mile, the highest on record, the ATRI said, citing its findings from a survey of U.S. motor carriers.

Leading contributors to the increase were fuel (35.4% higher than in 2020), repair and maintenance (18.2% higher than in 2020), and driver wages (10.8% higher than in 2020). On a cost-per-hour basis, costs increased to $74.65, the Atlanta-based non-profit research organization said.

The trucking industry experienced many new, atypical market conditions in 2021 and their effects can clearly be seen in the Ops Costs data, the ATRI said.

Overall, fleets with up to 100 trucks spent 4.9 cents more per mile than fleets with more than 100 trucks — closing the 2020 gap with larger fleets by 70%. While larger fleets spent less than smaller fleets on insurance premiums per mile, the advantage was offset by higher out-of-pocket incidental costs per mile for large fleets.

In response to the truck driver shortage, driver compensation rose 10% last year over 2020 to 80.9 cents per mile.

Faced with challenges throughout the supply chain, carriers emphasized greater efficiency, the ATRI said. Empty or "deadhead" mileage fell to 14.8% of miles traveled, and average truck fuel economy increased to 6.65 miles per gallon.

Repair and maintenance costs jumped 18.2% last year over 2020 to 17.5 cents per mile, ATRI said, owing in part to the average of trucks rising in light of new truck shortages. Reducing tire costs is always a key metric for fleets, but it is even more important these days. Ask your tire dealer about Triangle TBR tires.