Combined Parts and Labor Fell in the First Quarter of 2026
Combined Parts and Labor Fell in the First Quarter of 2026
Latest Report from TMC and Decisiv Reveals Continuation of Previous Quarterly Trend
Washington – A new report from American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council and Decisiv Inc. indicated parts and labor costs fell in the first quarter of 2026. This is the second consecutive quarterly decline, following a -1.1 percent drop in Q4 2025.
In Q1 2026, combined parts and labor costs in the Decisiv/TMC Parts & Labor Service Benchmark Report decreased by 3.0 percent. The drop in Quarter-over-Quarter (QoQ) combined expenses included 4.6 percent lower parts costs and a 0.6 percent reduction in labor costs. Year-over-Year (YoY), combined parts and labor costs decreased 0.8 percent, reversing the increase recorded in Q4 2025. Parts costs YoY in the current quarter fell 0.1 percent while labor costs were down 1.7 percent.
Lower costs in Q1 2026 are in contrast to a strengthening freight market during the same period. Higher freight volumes generally translate into increased mileage and subsequently higher service costs. In January, February and March of this year, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) reported truck freight tonnage increases of 0.7 percent, 2.9 percent, and 0.3 percent, respectively. Overall, according to ATA, Q1 2026 saw the best combined sequential and year-over-year performance since the third quarter of 2017.
With overall costs falling in Q1 2026, combined parts and labor cost decreases were seen in 15 of the 25 VMRS Systems tracked in the Decisiv/TMC Parts & Labor Service Benchmark Report, the same number in the previous quarter. QoQ parts costs dropped in 16 systems, one more than the previous quarter, and labor costs were down in nine VMRS code categories, less than half compared to the previous quarter.
YoY, combined parts and labor costs were higher in 18 VMRS Systems, two more than in the previous quarter. Parts costs were up in 20 systems, one more than in the previous YoY analysis, while 14 systems with higher YoY labor costs represented three more than in Q4 2025.
“A strengthening freight market in Q1 2026 undoubtedly brought higher mileages and increased service activity, yet the Decisiv/TMC Parts & Labor Service Benchmark Report shows costs moving lower during the same period,” said Tim Hardin, president and CEO, Decisiv. “That kind of result underscores the value and importance of enhanced cost control and improve efficiency, turning a busier quarter into a more profitable one instead of a more expensive one.”
To provide a highly accurate understanding of service costs, the Decisiv TMC Benchmark Report is now based on a more extensive dataset. The result of greater encoding precision that adds cost information across all VMRS codes included in the quarterly data, the report now presents an improved view of service costs for deeper activity and trend analyses.
The Decisiv/TMC Parts & Labor Service Benchmark is based on comprehensive service data. For the report, Decisiv collects and analyzes parts and labor costs for 25 VMRS system-level codes. These codes account for more than 97 percent of total parts and labor spending on more than seven million assets during 300,000+ monthly maintenance and repair events at 5,000+ service locations.
“We’re pleased to see two consecutive quarters of declining parts and labor costs,” said TMC Executive Director Robert Braswell. “And the information delivered in the Decisiv/TMC Parts & Labor Service Benchmark continues to provide Council members an excellent means of comparing how their operations are performing to industry trends so they can take action accordingly to changing industry conditions.”
TMC issues the reports to its fleet members. The reports are organized based on the Council’s VMRS, sorted by VMRS-coded vehicle systems and geographic location.
TMC fleet members will receive the report electronically via email. For more information on joining TMC, call (703) 838-1763 or visit http://tmc.trucking.org.
By providing leadership support and opportunities to collaborate, TMC helps members develop the industry’s best practices that address the critical truck technology and maintenance issues that have the greatest impact on truck fleets. For 70 years, TMC’s member-driven Recommended Maintenance and Engineering Practices have been setting the standards that help trucking companies specify and maintain their fleets more effectively. Follow TMC on X, LinkedIn and Facebook.
Virginia-based Decisiv is the provider of the largest asset service management ecosystem for the commercial vehicle industry. The Decisiv Service Relationship Management (SRM) platform is the foundation for the nearly 5,000 service locations across North America that manage more than 4 million service and repair events for commercial vehicles annually. Through Decisiv’s SRM platform, dealers, service providers, manufacturers, and fleet and asset managers can communicate and collaborate during every service event. The SRM solution streamlines the entire asset service management process bringing all the necessary diagnostic, telematics and asset information together for all participants, and delivers it at the point of service. This level of connectivity and collaboration drives an unrivaled level of service performance and asset optimization that gets trucks back on the road faster so fleets see higher revenue per asset and lower costs. Service providers using SRM establish efficient communication, better controls and increased productivity in service operations that enable them to become trusted partners to fleets. For manufacturers, SRM enhances the value of service networks and provides data and analytics to help develop more reliable and efficient commercial assets. For more information, visit www.decisiv.com.
American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of 50 affiliated state trucking associations and industry-related conferences and councils, ATA is the voice of the industry America depends on most to move our nation’s freight. Nothing Without Trucking