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Fleet utilization isn’t just a performance metric, it’s a direct indicator of whether your vehicles are generating revenue or quietly draining your budget. And in 2025, even a seemingly minor 1% drop in utilization translates into thousands—sometimes millions—in lost value.
This report explores the financial implications of underutilization, why downtime is still rising in 2025, and what today’s fleet leaders can do to turn those idle hours into profit.
According to RTS Financial, the average operating cost for a heavy-duty truck hit $91.27/hour in 2023. That means every hour a truck is down equates to nearly $100 in lost opportunity, or over $700/day.
For light-duty fleets, it is estimated that daily downtime costs around $448 per vehicle.
Work trucks and construction fleets face similar figures. Milwaukee Tool’s One-Key platform reports average downtime costs between $448 and $760/day, depending on task type.
Even more sobering, Gitnux cites a total average cost of $880/day, including fixed expenses like insurance, depreciation, and lease payments that continue even while the truck is idle.
It may sound small, but a 1% drop in utilization = 3.5 fewer active days per year per vehicle. For a fleet of 100 trucks, that’s 350 lost operational days annually.
Using the average $700/day downtime figure, that’s $245,000/year in lost productivity. In larger fleets, the impact scales fast:
And that's without accounting for additional indirect costs like rescheduled routes, missed SLAs, or driver dissatisfaction due to idle time.
Tow4Tech reinforces this with a stark conclusion: "Underutilization and missed deliveries not only cost money—they jeopardize customer trust."
Breakdowns remain the top issue. Noregon notes engine, electrical, and tire issues still lead the list, many of which are preventable with proper PM.
According to FleetHD, some critical parts still carry lead times of 16+ weeks. Vehicles often sit idle, not because they’re irreparable, but because replacement components are on backorder.
The TMC reports that technician scarcity is the #1 maintenance concern. Backlogged shops and rising labor costs mean slower turnaround times, even when parts are available.
TruckNews reports the U.S. remains short 78,000 drivers. Meanwhile, dispatch inefficiencies and no-show jobs can lead to perfectly functioning trucks sitting unused.
As fleet management becomes more digitized, Fleet Management Weekly reports system outages are now a top-five downtime contributor. When routing or compliance tools go down, entire fleets can stall.
The Nonstop Group notes that fleets with strong PM adherence experience 20% fewer downtime days. Yet data shows the average PM compliance rate is just 84%, and nearly 1 in 4 fleets falls below 75%.
To understand the real-world root causes of downtime, we turned to Tim LaHaie, Director of Operations at Torque By Ryder, who oversees maintenance operations for fleets across the U.S. His insights shed light on what’s actually happening in the field—and where fleet leaders are most at risk of losing productivity.
Torque’s team reports the five most common repairs across fleets are:
Many of these are avoidable with consistent preventive maintenance. According to LaHaie, “Underinflated tires, worn brake pads, and neglected fluid changes are repeat offenders across nearly every fleet type.”
Some repairs are simple, but get drawn out due to logistics issues or part shortages. LaHaie notes that repairs involving:
are the most likely to sideline a vehicle for days, not hours.
Even quick fixes like a belt replacement can lead to extended downtime if technicians or parts aren’t immediately available.
Neglected maintenance is a key driver of unnecessary repair events. Torque’s team sees avoidable issues like:
“Surprising failures like seized alternators or failed sensors often trace back to skipped PM tasks—especially electrical system checks,” says LaHaie.
Torque’s data reinforces the industry-wide labor and parts bottlenecks. Commonly delayed parts include:
LaHaie cautions: “A 2-hour repair can turn into a multi-day problem when the right part is stuck in a warehouse—or when a tech isn’t available in time.”
Not all fleets face the same problems. Torque’s technicians report:
There are seasonal patterns as well:
LaHaie also notes that newer trucks (2021+), while often more efficient, have introduced more complex diagnostics and emissions systems, making repairs trickier and often more specialized.
So, what should fleet managers aim for?
TruckX recommends treating anything under 80% as a red flag.
AgileFleet adds that underused vehicles should be evaluated for reassignment or retirement, especially if they fall under 10,000 miles/year (see: DES policy).
Fleet costs are rising across the board—from labor to fuel to compliance. But utilization is one area where small improvements lead to massive ROI. A 1–2% gain in asset usage, if applied across 100 or 1,000 vehicles, can mean hundreds of thousands in reclaimed value.
If your fleet isn’t actively monitoring utilization metrics, now’s the time.
As Geotab says: "Every underutilized vehicle is a missed opportunity to generate value—or a signal that something needs to change."
Torque™ by Ryder is a trademark of Ryder System, Inc. ©2025 Ryder System, Inc.
