Owner-operators face higher maintenance costs than any other type of operation on the road today, a recently released report said.

According to the report, “2005 Heavy Duty Truck Maintenance in the U.S.A.,” truckers who own and operate their own rigs have an average maintenance expense of 25 cents per mile.

According to the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association – the organization which released the report – this is the highest rate per mile compared to a number of different categories, including:

• Construction fleets, 20 cents;
• Commercial carriers, 16 cents;
• Private fleets, 15 cents;
• Agriculture/mining/forestry, 14 cents; and
• Production/distribution fleets, 12 cents.

“The owner-operator is not able to garner the economies of scale available to larger operations,” said Frank Hampshire, director of research for the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association.