How Much Does It Cost to Run a Semi Per Mile in 2026?
Short answer from the most recent published industry research: the average marginal cost of operating a truck was $2.260 per mile — per the American Transportation Research Institute's (ATRI) Operational Costs of Trucking, 2025 update, which covers calendar-year 2024, the latest full year published as of mid-2026. Your truck is not average, though — here's what's inside that number and how to get yours.
The headline number — and what it includes
ATRI's 2025 update (published July 1, 2025) found that the industry's average cost of operating a truck in 2024 was $2.260 per mile, a 0.4% decline from 2023 — cheaper fuel did the work. Strip fuel out and costs actually rose 3.6% to $1.779 per mile, the highest non-fuel cost ATRI has ever recorded.
| Cost line | 2024, $/mile | Change vs 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel | $0.48 | down $0.07 |
| Truck & trailer lease/purchase payments | $0.390 | up 8.3% (record high) |
| Repair & maintenance | $0.198 | down 2% |
| Tires | $0.047 | up 2.2% |
| Driver wages | ≈$0.80 | up 2.4% |
| Driver benefits | $0.197 | up 4.8% |
| All-in marginal cost | $2.260 | down 0.4% |
Sources: ATRI press release; line-item detail as reported in Fleet Maintenance's breakdown of the same ATRI report. The full report is on ATRI's Operational Costs of Trucking page.
Two more ATRI findings worth knowing before you quote a rate:
- Empty miles averaged 16.7% across carriers in 2024 — miles you pay for but don't invoice. That's why a break-even rate per loaded mile is higher than your raw cost per mile. Try the calculator with 16.7% deadhead pre-filled.
- Margins were brutal: average operating margins were below 2% in every sector except LTL, and the truckload sector averaged −2.3% — negative. In a market like this, the operators who survive are the ones who know their numbers to the cent.
Why your number is not ATRI's number
ATRI's averages are fleet-weighted — they lean toward larger carriers with employed drivers, negotiated fuel discounts, and fleet insurance rates. As an owner-operator you may run older equipment (lower payments, higher maintenance), pay retail at the pump, carry your own insurance, and pay yourself rather than a payroll line. The structure of the math is identical; the inputs are yours. That's exactly what the cost per mile calculator is for — it takes five minutes with your last three months of statements.
What OOIDA's research adds for owner-operators
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) publishes a free cost-per-mile spreadsheet and worksheet aimed squarely at single-truck businesses. Three takeaways from their published material:
- Miles dilute fixed costs. OOIDA's own worked example shows vehicle costs of $1.06 per mile at 50,000 miles a year falling to $0.69 per mile at 130,000 miles — same kind of equipment, very different cost per mile, purely because fixed costs are spread over more miles.
- Small MPG gains are real money. Per OOIDA's example, improving fuel economy by just 0.2 MPG (5.7 instead of 5.5) can save more than $2,000 a year.
- Knowing your costs pays — literally. The OOIDA Foundation's 2022 Freight Rate Survey, reported by Land Line, found owner-operators who knew their cost of operations earned $1.15 more per mile and about $1,500 more per trip than those who didn't.
Get your own cost per mile in five minutes
Published averages set context; loads get booked on your numbers. The calculator is free, runs on your phone, needs no signup, and saves your inputs on your device:
- Open the calculator with 16.7% deadheadATRI's 2024 industry-average empty-mile share, as a starting point.
- Open it with maintenance & tire money pre-set$0.20 + $0.05 per mile set-asides — round-number starting points near ATRI's published 2024 line items; adjust to your truck.
- Go straight to the break-even rate viewThe minimum rate per loaded mile to accept.
- Walk the full expenses checklist firstSo nothing is missing from your math.
Sources
- ATRI — "New ATRI Report Shows Trucking Profitability Severely Squeezed by High Costs, Low Rates" (July 1, 2025): $2.260/mile total; $1.779/mile excluding fuel; payments $0.390; benefits $0.197; 16.7% empty miles; sector margins. Accessed June 10, 2026.
- ATRI — Operational Costs of Trucking research page (full report). Accessed June 10, 2026.
- Fleet Maintenance — breakdown of ATRI's 2025 report: fuel $0.48; R&M $0.198; tires $0.047; wages ≈$0.80. Accessed June 10, 2026.
- OOIDA — Cost Per Mile tool & spreadsheet: mileage-dilution and MPG examples. Accessed June 10, 2026.
- Land Line (OOIDA's publication) — 2022 Freight Rate Survey coverage: $1.15/mile and $1,500/trip difference. Accessed June 10, 2026.
Estimates only — not financial advice. Figures above are published research about past years; markets move. Use them as context, then calculate with your own current costs.