Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/1346654
ASSOCIATIONINSIGHT Portable Sanitation Association International News BIWEEKLY EDITION MARCH 3, 2021 Page 18 Continued on page 19 Report Provides Benchmarks for Portable Sanitation…continued from page 17 Average Marginal Operating Cost Per Hour 2014 2018 2019 ∆ 2018–2019 ∆ 2014–2019 Vehicle-based Fuel costs $23.29 $17.07 $15.62 -8.49% -32.93% Truck/Trailer payments $8.59 $10.45 $10.21 -2.30% 18.86% Repair/maintenance $6.31 $6.72 $5.62 -16.37% -10.94% Truck insurance $2.86 $3.32 $2.68 -19.28% -6.29% Permits/Licenses $0.76 $0.95 $0.90 -5.26% 18.42% Tires $1.76 $1.50 $1.42 -5.33% -19.32% Tolls $0.90 $1.17 $1.34 14.53% 48.89% Driver-based Wages $18.39 $23.50 $21.01 -10.60% 14.25% Benefits $6.05 $7.10 $6.31 -11.13% 4.30% Total $68.21 $71.78 $65.11 -9.29% -4.54% ATRI's report shows that driver wages and benefits continue to be the number one cost for motor carriers, accounting for 42 percent of costs per mile in 2019, down slightly from 43 percent in 2018 but up from 35.8 percent five years earlier. Although wages and benefits went down slightly between 2018 and 2019, driver-based costs have gone up 17.25 percent over the past five years with wages making up the larger portion of that total. Fuel prices have generally fallen over the past five years, dropping 8.49 percent between 2018 and 2019 and nearly 33 percent since 2014. Repair costs, tire costs, and insurance costs have also resisted the rising tide over the five-year horizon. The cost of purchasing trucks, licensing them, and driving them on toll roads have all gone up. Attracting and Retaining Truck Drivers According to ATRI, driver compensation, including wages, benefits and bonuses, has been the biggest line-item cost for companies since 2014, even during periods of decreasing overall marginal cost. While controlling costs is always important, employers should note that the average 17.25 percent increase in driver expenses between 2014 and 2019 is about equal to the 17.3 percent average increase for all workers during the same period. 1 Looking ahead, driver wages will likely need to grow faster over the next few years because competition for these professionals will increase. Portable sanitation companies should take this into consideration during their planning processes. Why is this happening? While COVID-19 made for an unusual year in trucking—causing driver shortages in some sectors and layoffs in others—trucking overall will need far more drivers over the next 5 to 10 years than are currently expected in the workforce. 1 See https://www.epi.org/nominal-wage-tracker/ Photo courtesy of kali9/Getty Images