ASSOCIATIONINSIGHT
Portable Sanitation Association International News
BIWEEKLY EDITION MARCH 3, 2021
Page 2
Report Provides Benchmarks for Portable Sanitation…continued from page 1
Continued on page 17
Based in Minneapolis, ATRI published its annual analysis of the operational costs of trucking in November.
1
While
this annual report covers trucking data in general, it contains several data points that may be of particular interest
to leaders in the portable sanitation industry.
Truck Basics
According to ATRI, the average age of straight trucks on the road—
those with two axles not pulling trailers—was 8.4 years in 2019. Trucks
like these, similar to those used in the portable sanitation industry,
are driven about 34,100 miles per year on average. In 2019 they had
an average trade cycle of 10.2 years, so we can assume each truck is
typically driven around 350,000 miles total.
Fuel Efficiency
Ongoing improvements in engineering and
technology components can play a key role in
improved fuel efficiency, but the overall fuel
economy of trucks continues to be low according to
the trucking firms reporting in ATRI's sample. Between 2018 and 2019, average mileage changed slightly for both
sizes of trucks most common in the portable sanitation industry.
It is likely if fuel prices rise, we will see investment in more efficient vehicles. At present, however, high upfront
purchase costs of alternative-fuel vehicles compared to the incremental fuel savings make these trucks an
unpredictable investment. According to ATRI, only a small percentage of trucks on the road use alternative fuels
right now—about 15 percent of carriers had them in 2019, up from 13 percent in 2018. Compressed natural gas
(CNG) is the most common alternative fuel choice for vehicles on the road at this time.
According to ATRI, close management of truck speeds can help with fuel economy. Speed governors (along with
adaptive cruise control) can increase MPG when utilized effectively. For portable sanitation companies operating
mostly in crowded urban settings, this tool may
not do you much good. But for those companies
whose drivers spend time at highway speeds, it
has the potential to save you some respectable
money. The large majority of ATRI survey
respondents that utilize speed governors (91
percent in 2019, up from 86 percent in 2017) saw
a nearly one MPG improvement (from 5.6 MPG
to 6.4 MPG) in fuel economy in 2018.
For portable sanitation companies, improving
fuel economy by 0.8 MPG—however you
accomplish it—can make a big difference on
your bottom line. The savings from a 0.8 MPG
change in fuel economy translates to nearly an
11 percent savings in fuel costs per truck.
1 Read the full current ATRI report and ATRI's prior year report for comparison of some data found in this article
Basic Truck Data 2019
Average age, straight
trucks on the road
8.4 years
Average miles per year 34,100
Average trade cycle 10.2 years
Average life of the truck 347,820 miles
Typical Truck
Operating Weight
Avg MPG
2018
Avg MPG
2019
Less than 20,000 lbs 6.4 6.8
20,001–40,000 lbs 6.6 6.4
