The NPTC 2025 Benchmarking Survey Report, authored by NPTC EVP Tom Moore, CTP, and sponsored by Penske Truck Leasing for the fifth consecutive year, was released on August 1.
The report is widely regarded as the foremost authority on private fleet operations and one of the most valuable benefits of council membership. It is recognized as the gold standard by which private fleets can scorecard their performance, justify their value, and assess how well they stack up against national standards and top-performing private fleets.
Data analysis from the report affirms private fleets as reliable, flexible, and growing strategic assets that continue to strengthen their market share and exercise greater control over their supply chains.
Private fleets provide unmatched value for on-demand capacity, premium service, and the highest safety performance. Customer service (89%), cost control (74%), and a hedge against outside carrier uncertainty (73%) are reported as the top three benefits of running a private fleet.
Fleet members from 104 companies contributed data to NPTC’s Benchmarking Survey questionnaire. Representing a broad cross-section of industries, markets, and business sectors throughout the American economy, the average fleet size represented has 625 trucks (438 of which are HD power units), 1,000 trailers, 502 drivers, and 49 locations. There are 77% that operate as cost centers, while 22% operate as profit centers.
For 11 consecutive years, companies have grown shipments, volume, and value of their in-house transportation freight movements. This year, shipments increased 11.7%, volume increased 8.2%, and the value of private fleet freight movements increased 6.6%.
Private fleets handle 70.4% of outbound shipments and 43% of inbound shipments. This is the third consecutive year that outbound shipments have reached over 70%, peaking in 2024 with the highest percentage in survey history at 75%. The percentage of inbound shipments this year matches the highest level ever recorded two years ago. Vendor/suppliers with their own private fleets handle 17% of shipments.
A total operating cost of $3.81 per mile was reported by fleets in this year's survey. Caution is advised when comparing overall cost-per-mile numbers with other private fleets and outside carriers, as they reflect a wide range of inconsistent variables in operations that may not yield apple-to-apple comparisons. Total financial performance is more accurately measured in cost per hour of operation per key operating area, which the report provides.
The average operation costs for all fleets reporting this year rose about 20% year over year to $127,811 per hour. Total equipment and maintenance costs are $1.01 per hour. Drilling down further, tires cost $0.06 per hour; trailer maintenance, $0.24 per hour; fuel, $0.58 per hour; and claims and insurance, $0.20 per hour.
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Average compensation for private fleet drivers (HD equipment) is now $91,081. Generous benefit packages add about a third more cost to the driver’s overall compensation. This combination makes private fleet drivers’ pay the highest in the trucking industry.
Green/environmental sustainability initiatives are popular in fleets surveyed. They include speed governance-cruise (83%), speed governance-pedal (81%), anti-idling devices (75%), trailer skirts (53%), louvered mud flaps (30%), electric (28%), biodiesel (26%), increased load density (23%), wide-base tires (19%), and low rolling resistance tires (23%).
Private fleets are three times safer than the trucking industry at large. Based on CSA scores posted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the DOT Recordable Accidents rate of fleets surveyed is 0.49 crashes per million miles. This rate nearly matches the overall average 0.48 crashes per million miles for private fleets in five of the last six years.
According to survey respondents, the fleet was at fault in just 26% of crashes. The reported lost time rate of 2.95 injuries occurring in the workplace per 200,000 hours worked is the lowest in the 18-year history of NPTC surveys.
Widespread adoption of active safety technologies drives continuous improvement in fleet performance. Key technologies deployed include automatic transmissions (100%), in-cab cameras (88%), backup cameras (33%), side-facing cameras (29%), digital camera mirror system (12%), 360-degree cameras (6%), lane departure (76%), speed monitoring (86%), collision warning (83%), disc brakes (77%), adaptive cruise control (79%), electronic stability control (68%), and tire inflation (50%).
Incentive compensation programs are offered by 74% of fleets. Safety is the biggest component of incentive compensation at 83%, followed by new-hire referral (52%), clean inspections (33%), and compliance (31%).
One of the biggest challenges is recruiting. Even though private fleets offer the best-paying jobs in the industry, the pool of available qualified drivers continues to shrink.
Private fleet drivers work at the same company for an average of 8.7 years (down from 9.5 years in the 2024 report); annual turnover is 18.4%, which is slightly higher than the previous 15-year running average of 14.5%.
The cost of driver turnover is now $12,313, which is up from $7,929 the previous year. About 45% of companies offer sign-on bonuses. The average number of candidates screened is 15. Recruiting and screening drivers takes 18 days; qualifying a driver takes 11 days; and hiring a driver takes an overall 24 days.
Despite the steeper grade for driver recruiting, private fleets are optimistic about the road ahead. When asked to look into the future, 76% of fleets expect to grow by adding equipment and/or by handling more of their company’s freight.
The National Private Truck Council's 2025 Benchmarking Survey Report is copyrighted and is for the sole and exclusive benefit of its members.
For information about joining NPTC and receiving a copy of the report, contact the council at nptc.org.
