From left: Cooper, Poster, Broberg and Fleet Maintenance editor in chief John Hitch. (Connor D. Wolf/Transport Topics)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In a preview of its State of Heavy-Duty Repair 2026 report, maintenance data services provider Fullbay said shops using its technology saw revenue in 2025 jump to $5.04 billion, a 68% increase from 2023.

“The shops are seeing positive momentum, they’re continuing to grow, and they’re finding new ways to drive revenue,” Fullbay CEO Trent Broberg said during a March 15 panel discussion at American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council Annual Meeting and Transportation Technology Exhibition. “When you look at that across the Fullbay portfolio, there’s about $5 billion in service order commerce going through the system.”

The report, produced in cooperation with TMC, is scheduled for official release March 23.

The report ties the revenue increase to fleets holding onto older equipment longer, boosting maintenance needs.

“It comes down to economics,” said Jack Poster, Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standards services manager at TMC. “You fix it, or you get rid of it. It’s a decision they have to make.”

Ascend Consulting CEO Peter Cooper noted that fleets sometimes hesitate to shed older trucks over concerns about emissions systems on newer models. These fleets tend to rely on the secondary market to replenish their equipment.

Cooper also stressed the rising cost of performing repairs on newer trucks, noting that the advanced technology requires shops to invest heavily in specialized tools and equipment.

Labor Costs

Labor costs contributed to the jump in overall revenue, with Fullbay finding that shop labor rates rose 10% year over year to $149 an hour from $135 in 2024. It also found that 61% of shops reported better business in 2025 compared with the prior year, with 26% saying business was the same and 20% saying it was worse.

“[The] No. 1 question we get asked is about labor rates,” Broberg said. “I think what you find are different classes of shops that are culture-rich shops that are paying top or median tier.”

He noted that 42% of survey respondents listed a shortage of technicians as their top concern, and said shops’ willingness to bid high on wages to retain qualified technicians is contributing to rising wages.

Cooper described the current environment as “basically like an auction block,” with workers switching jobs for minimal pay bumps. The report found that 14.1% of survey respondents said they increased wages in 2025, and 54% said they were understaffed.

It also found that 17% of respondents were 30 years old or younger, an indication that shops are working to broaden their hiring pools amid an aging workforce.

“There’s a lot of different positions that are floating around in shops, particularly the large ones,” Broberg said.

Poster noted that losing even a single technician can be a substantial setback for smaller shops. “When you’re dealing with five or six technicians in a shop, and you lose one — that’s a pretty big hit,” he said. “Your people are so important.”