How Can Carriers Protect Profits in a Soft Market?

Properly maintaining a truck can cost over $15,000 per year, and that is if nothing goes wrong. Unfortunately, something often goes wrong. When roadside maintenance, costly tows and late loads are added into the equation, costs can skyrocket.

An early 2021 report from the American Trucking Associations’ Technology and Maintenance Council found that the frequency of “unscheduled roadside maintenance” was increasing, with the average number of miles a truck traveled between breakdowns falling almost 19% on a quarter-over-quarter basis.

With continued market softening and a potential freight recession on the horizon, carriers cannot afford to be shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars in unexpected maintenance costs. In an effort to drive those costs down, a significant number of carriers are becoming more interested in the benefits of predictive maintenance.

Uptake teamed up with FreightWaves to survey carriers about both their current maintenance strategies and their next steps when it comes to caring for their fleets — and their bottom lines.