Understanding the True Cost of Downtime for Fleets
How to keep trucks on the road and protect profitability
Downtime Costs Add Up
Trucks are revenue-generating assets. When they aren’t moving, they aren’t earning — making lost revenue is one of the most immediate impacts of downtime. According to the American Transportation Institute, the average truckload revenue per truck per week was $4,457 in 2024, which breaks down to about $637 per day. Each day that a truck is down results in lost earning potential, and the lost revenue can add up quickly. For three days of unplanned downtime, the direct revenue loss alone is close to $2,000. Fleets can also face additional costs from roadside service, towing, emergency repairs and replacement equipment.
Hidden costs are often the most expensive and may even exceed the actual revenue loss since they affect operations, people and customer relationships. Less obvious costs can include:
Driver frustration and retention: Drivers are constrained by hours-of-service requirements, and unexpected downtime can result in lost miles and income, especially for those paid by the mile. Repeated downtime can frustrate drivers and lead to driver turnover. The National Transportation Institute estimates that the average cost of driver turnover ranges from $7,000 to $10,000.
Brand damage: Shippers monitor numerous key performance indicators with their carrier partners, and on-time deliveries is one of the most important measurements. Late deliveries and missed service windows can erode trust, damage customer relationships, and eventually lead to lost business and a poor reputation.
Operational disruptions: When equipment goes down, it can have a ripple effect across the operation. Dispatchers often have to reshuffle routes, locate and assign backup equipment and adjust schedules. Downtime can also generate unplanned paperwork and customer communication, which takes time and resources.
Load recovery costs: One of the most expensive and unpredictable downtime costs is load recovery. If a truck breaks down while loaded, fleets may need to send another truck to recover the load, transfer the trailer, pay additional driver time and possibly use expedited shipping to meet delivery commitments.
Preventive Maintenance as Cost Control
Unplanned repairs and over-the-road breakdowns are some of the top causes of downtime. Plus, equipment issues found at roadside can result in out-of-service violations, requiring the equipment to be removed from the road immediately.
Preventive maintenance can help fleets control costs by allowing them to schedule service during off-hours and bundle repairs to reduce shop visits. It also helps improve uptime and prevent smaller issues from becoming larger failures and over-the-road breakdowns. Different asset types can benefit from preventive maintenance in different ways.
For light, medium- and heavy-duty equipment, preventive maintenance typically includes oil and filter changes, brake inspections, tire management, fluid checks and engine diagnostics. Regular service and inspections can help prevent major engine failures, aftertreatment issues and brake problems, which are among the most expensive repairs and leading causes of roadside breakdowns.
Trailers are sometimes overlooked in maintenance planning, but they are critical to uptime. A trailer out of service can delay a load and disrupt operations even if the tractor is fully operational. Preventive maintenance for trailers includes brake systems, lighting, tires, wheel seals and structural components.
Liftgates are essential for many delivery operations, and liftgate failures may not be detected until equipment arrives at the delivery site, which can lead to delivery delays, driver and customer frustration, and potential safety issues. Preventive maintenance on liftgates typically includes hydraulic system checks, electrical and structural inspections, and lubrication.
Key Strategies To Drive Uptime
For all types of maintenance, Penske Truck Leasing uses real-time vehicle data and advanced artificial intelligence to proactively address maintenance issues and schedule repairs or replace parts before they fail. Penske also uses remote diagnostics to triage potential issues using live fault-code data and has categorized more than 1,000 fault codes by severity to help determine which codes need immediate attention and which can be addressed at a more convenient time.
In addition to maintaining equipment, using late-model equipment can improve uptime. Newer equipment typically experiences fewer maintenance issues and mechanical failures than older trucks.
If equipment is down for an extended period, Penske Truck Leasing can provide customers with replacement units from its wide range of equipment and trailers. To learn more, contact us today.