Report: Digger Derrick Operating Costs Grow by 81% Over 10-Year Cycle

Utilimarc’s newly released digger derrick report collected data from more than 50 of its utility and municipal fleet benchmarking clients and their active digger derricks.

by Staff

October 5, 2015

Report: Digger Derrick Operating Costs Grow by 81% Over 10-Year Cycle — *Graph courtesy of Utilimarc*

2 min to read

Utilimarc’s newly released digger derrick report shows that the vehicles are driven about 6,000 miles per year, get less than 5 miles per gallon, and are on average 8.5 years old.

Utilimarc collected data from more than 50 of its utility and municipal fleet benchmarking clients and their active digger derricks. The sample shows the average of nearly 12,000 vehicles weighing less than or equal to 55,000 GVWR. The average purchase price of a 2014 digger derrick was $237,225, according to the company.

The graph below shows the operating cost (all parts and labor) net of fuel per mile for digger derricks. As the vehicles age, operating cost per 1,000 miles also increases.

The overall operating cost for digger derricks in year one was $1,430 per 1,000 miles, while in year ten it was $2,589 per 1,000 miles, an increase of $1,159 or 81% over the 10 years. The average operating cost per 1,000 miles for the digger derrick over the same 10-year period was $2,132.

This graph shows the average miles driven from 2010 to 2014 for the digger derrick. The annual average miles driven between 2010 and 2014 varied, with the most being 6,301 miles and the least being 5,795 miles. The average miles driven from 2010 to 2014 is 6,094.

This graph shows the average miles per gallon (MPG) from 2010 to 2014. The annual average MPG between 2010 and 2014 varied, with the highest MPG being 4.95 and the lowest MPG being 4.45. The average MPG from 2010-2014 is 4.68.

This graph shows the average number of days between an unscheduled/demand repair event from 2010-2014. The digger derrick historically has an average of 16.8 days between unscheduled/demand repair event.

This graph shows the average number of days between a scheduled/preventive maintenance event from 2010-2014. The digger derrick historically has an average of 49.9 days between a scheduled/preventive maintenance event.

This graph shows the average age of the digger derrick from 2010-2014. The average age has varied since 2010, with the highest age of 9.03 years in 2011 and the lowest age of 8.56 in 2013. In comparison, the year with the highest average age for the heavy-duty bucket truck was 2013, at 8.07, and the average age from 2010-2014 was 7.65. The digger derrick historically has an average age of 8.76.

To learn more about the data provided here, visit www.utilimarc.com/demo.

Topics:Digger Derricks Benchmarking Utilimarc Operations

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