New Report from TMC and Decisiv Shows Averaged Trends Unchanged From Previous Quarter
JULY 18, 2025
A new report from American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council and Decisiv Inc. indicated parts and labor costs were flat in the first quarter of 2025.
Following a -1.4% drop in Q4 2024, combined parts and labor costs were unchanged in Q1 2025. The lower costs in the first quarter of the year reflect an ongoing decline in freight hauling activity that began at the end of 2024. In Q1 of this year, drops in tonnage and mileage continued to be driven by economic and legislative uncertainty across trucking markets.
“While a decline in freight volume and mileage that began at the end of 2024 is ongoing, lower and unchanged combined parts labor costs in the Q1 2025 Decisiv TMC Benchmark Report point to efforts by fleets and service providers to implement effective service management practices,” said Dick Hyatt, CEO of Decisiv. “Along with investments in technician retention and continuing parts price stabilization, those efforts will support a healthier bottom line amid uncertainty across trucking markets about the prospect of changing legislation, tariffs and economic policies.”
Q1 2025 Quarter-over-Quarter (QoQ) data differed from Q4 2024 in two ways. QoQ parts costs continued to fall by -0.7%, although at half the decrease seen in Q4 2024, pointing to continuing parts price stabilization. Simultaneously, QoQ labor expenses rose 0.9% after falling -1.5% in Q4 2024, attributable in part to ongoing technician retention efforts focused on wage growth.
On a Year-over-Year (YoY) basis in Q1 2025, combined parts and labor costs rose 0.6% on increases of 0.2% in parts and 1.1% in labor expenses. The higher YoY combined costs represent a significant 2.2% increase following a drop of -1.6% in Q4 2024.
In Q1 2025, increases in combined parts and labor costs were seen in 11 of the 25 VMRS Systems tracked in the Decisiv TMC Benchmark Report, two more than in the Q4 2024 analysis. QoQ seven Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standard (VMRS) Systems saw parts costs rise while labor cost increases were recorded for 17 systems.
YoY combined parts and labor cost increases were seen in 14 of the 25 VMRS System Codes in the report, up from 10 systems in Q4 2024. In Q1 2025 on an annual basis, parts costs were higher in 14 systems and labor costs rose for 16 VMRS Systems.
To provide a highly accurate understanding of service costs, the Q1 2025 Decisiv TMC Benchmark Report is based on a more extensive dataset. The result of greater encoding precision that adds cost information across all VMRS System codes included in the report, the analysis now presents an improved view of service costs for deeper activity and trend analyses.
The Decisiv/TMC Benchmark Report is based on comprehensive service data. For the report, Decisiv collects and analyzes parts and labor costs for 25 Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standard (VMRS) system level codes, which accounts for more than 97 percent of total parts and labor spent on costs more than seven million assets during over 300,000 monthly maintenance and repair events at more than 5,000 service locations.
“While the data on various parts and labor costs are mixed, seeing the trends average out to be essentially flat is welcome news,” said TMC Executive Director Robert Braswell. “Once again, the information provided by the Decisiv/TMC North American Service Event Benchmark Report provides Council members an excellent means of comparing how their operations are performing to industry trends so they can take action accordingly.”
ATA’s Technology & Maintenance Council issues the reports to its fleet members. The reports are organized based on the Council’s Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standards sorted by VMRS-coded vehicle systems and geographic location.
TMC fleet members will receive the report electronically via email. For more information on joining TMC, call (703) 838-1763 or visit http://tmc.trucking.org.
About TMC
By providing leadership support and opportunities to collaborate, TMC helps members develop the industry’s best practices that address the critical truck technology and maintenance issues that have the greatest impact on truck fleets. For more than 60 years, TMC’s member-driven Recommended Maintenance and Engineering Practices have been setting the standards that help trucking companies specify and maintain their fleets more effectively. Follow TMC on X, LinkedIn and Facebook.
American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of 50 affiliated state trucking associations and industry-related conferences and councils, ATA is the voice of the industry America depends on most to move our nation’s freight. Follow ATA on X or Facebook
About Decisiv, Inc.
Virginia-based Decisiv is the provider of the largest asset service management ecosystem for the commercial vehicle industry in North America, delivering intelligent asset service management for improved utilization, performance, security, and compliance. The Decisiv Service Relationship Management (SRM) platform is the foundation for over 5,000 service locations and over 74,000 fleets across North America that manage more than 4 million service and repair events for commercial vehicles annually. The Decisiv SRM Ecosystem acts as the system of orchestration that uniquely connects dealers, service providers, OEMs, component manufacturers, and fleets by delivering critical in-context, actionable data at the point of service. This unrivaled level of data connectivity and collaboration drives more intelligent, effective service and enables asset owners and managers to proactively plan and manage maintenance across the entire lifecycle of every asset. For more information, visit decisiv.com.
Contact:
Rob Ziemba
VP Marketing
Decisiv
Phone: (804) 762-4153
[email protected]