Fleet economics · 2026
THE METER DOESN'T STOP WHILE YOU HIRE
$1,000
All-in cost per day for an idle truck
01MILE
The daily cost of an idle truck
Variable costs stop when the truck does. Fixed costs don't.
✓ STOPS WHEN PARKED
Driver wages & benefits~$500/day
Fuel~$240/day
Maintenance & tires~$125/day
✗ KEEPS BILLING YOU
Truck & trailer payment~$115–130/day
Insurance~$41–60/day
Permits & licenses~$4–7/day
Hard cash out the door
~$180 /day
with zero revenue coming in
Lost earning power
~$820 /day
500 mi × $2.26/mi, minus costs saved
ATRI Operational Costs of Trucking 2025 · $2.26 avg cost/mile · FleetRabbit: idle trucks drain $150–$300/day in fixed costs alone
02MILE
Cost of idle trucks by fleet size
Industry average is 0.93 drivers per truck — a 20% seat gap is conservative.
50 trucks · 10 idle
100 trucks · 20 idle
200 trucks · 40 idle
$880,000 /month
Idle trucks at $1,000/day × 22 working days · ATRI: drivers per truck fell to 0.93 in 2024
Every one of those trucks is paid for, insured, and ready to roll.
It's waiting on one thing: a driver.
It's waiting on one thing: a driver.
03MILE
Industry average time to hire a driver: 40 days
That's the industry average to hire one truck driver.
Day 1 — seat opens
Day 40 — seat filled
40 days × $1,000/day, per empty seat
–$40,000
SHRM 2025: ~42 days avg time-to-fill · Orbit Research: 45 days for truck drivers · compliance-heavy CDL roles run longer
Lighthouse saves you up to $16,000 per driver hire.
Our AI-powered hiring platform fills driver seats in 24 days instead of 40.
WITHOUT LIGHTHOUSE
Time to hire40 days
Cost of empty seat$1,000/day
Cost per hire$40,000
WITH LIGHTHOUSE
Time to hire24 days
Cost of empty seat$1,000/day
Cost per hire$24,000
You save 16 days × $1,000/day
= $16,000
lighthousehiring.ai
Sources: ATRI “An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking” 2025 Update · FleetRabbit Equipment Utilization Analytics
Torque by Ryder · TACH USA · SHRM 2025 Recruiting Benchmarks