Survey: Larger trucking companies outperforming smaller carriers

A new benchmark survey from accounting firm KSM and McLeod software finds operating ratio and MPG better for carriers with 500-plus trucks.    Large over-the-road carriers have a slightly better operating ratio on average than small- and medium-sized carriers, the accounting company Katz, Sapper & Miller, and trucking and brokerage solutions provider McLeod Software said this week as they released their inaugural trucking industry benchmarking survey.
   “This survey breaks new ground by giving truckload carriers the opportunity to measure the real performance of their operations against their peers,” said Tim Almack, partner-in-charge of KSM’s transportation services group. “KSM and McLeod have begun the hard work of establishing a solid core of comprehensive benchmarking data on business performance for freight transportation companies, and the key findings from this report offer the first look at the results of these efforts.”
   The survey collected approximately 130 data elements from 2013. Carriers that participated in the survey run a total of more than 16,000 trucks — of that total, 83 percent are company assets, and 17 percent are run by owner-operators. Grouped together, these companies hauled more than 3 million loads, ran more than 1.6 billion miles, and generated close to $3.9 billion in total revenue.
   The findings reveal how carriers compare to each other in terms of such vital metrics as operating ratio, average miles per gallon and dispatched miles per truck. The analysis was refined by sorting data, with respect to carrier size, electronic on-board recorder use, and fleet type.
   Among the findings from the survey:

• Large carriers (more than 500 trucks) posted the best operating ratio, with an average of 92, versus 94 for medium carriers (101 to 500 trucks), and 95 for small carriers (100 trucks or fewer). Small carriers reported average MPG of 5.7, compared to 5.9 for medium carriers and 6 for large carriers. Small carriers reported the highest net fuel cost per mile, with an average of $0.64, while the figure for both medium and large carriers was $0.59.
• In terms of the breadth of a carrier’s customer base, there was a pronounced gap between small and medium carriers on one side, and large carriers on the other. Small and medium carriers reported that 75 percent of their revenue comes from their top 20 customers, while the figure for large carriers was 49 percent.

   “The number of carriers who are electing to participate in this ongoing benchmark program is expected to increase substantially in future years, as more carriers recognize the benefits that benchmarking data can bring to their internal improvement efforts,” said Mark Cubine, vice president of marketing for McLeod.