WEST DES MOINES, Iowa, February 29, 2024 – Ten5, Inc. a leading provider of trucking
communications and business intelligence solutions, is launching the National Trucking Cost
Index to help fleets monitor and address rising operational costs and quantify the value of
specific strategies to manage costs.
The National Trucking Cost Index is made up of three sub-indexes: Fuel, Labor, and Safety.
It tracks cost control performance in these three operational areas which are typically the
most variable and have the greatest impact on a truck fleet’s operating ratio.
“With the trucking industry coming off a difficult year profit-wise, the need for cost control
has never been greater,” according to Ten5 CEO Drew Ryder. “While the industry has a lot of
indexes tracking the revenue side of the business, there are few which directly address the
cost side. The National Trucking Cost Index fills the gap by helping fleets benchmark their
own performance in reducing fuel, labor, and safety costs against their peers.”
Ryder said the key to fleet cost control was understanding how much drivers are influencing
costs. “We picked fuel, labor, and safety for the index because drivers have the most impact
on costs in these areas. There is a ton of evidence that happier, less stressed drivers are
safer and more fuel efficient. We believe the fleets that take steps to improve driver
communication and affirmation will also see lower fuel and safety-related operating costs
and can spend less on sign-on bonuses to hire and retain drivers.”
Ryder added that the safety portion of the index could help inform the current debate
around safety fitness rulemaking. “The industry is pushing back on the Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration’s proposal to use the level of safety technology in trucks to assess the
safety fitness of a carrier. Instead, it wants the focus to remain on driver training,
experience, and safety performance. We can help fleets and FMCSA determine the correct
balance between the two.”
The National Trucking Cost Index is accessible via Ten5’s TruckAnswers business intelligence
portal which is automatically updated with new data for the indexes as it becomes available.
ABOUT TEN5
Ten5 is an Iowa-based trucking communications and business intelligence firm with
industry-leading technology to connect drivers, fleet personnel, and vendors to vital
information. It is the first-to-market with a hands-free voice assistant in the cab of the truck
and an AI-driven query engine which guides decision making and predictions and improves
workforce performance. Its TruckAnswers portal provides fleet managers with rapid access
to current financial and operating performance data for the industry for benchmarking and
decision support. Ten5 also produces the National Trucking Cost Index, an indicator of cost
trends and cost management in the US trucking industry. More information at
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