Technician labor rates have two sides: what you pay the technician and what a shop charges for an hour of labor. Benchmarks for both moved up in 2025, and the sources do not agree on wages. This page lays out the published rate and wage figures side by side, shows the staffing pressure behind them and gives a formula for working out what an hour of labor costs your own shop. Schedule a call to track labor hours and cost per work order.
TECHNICIAN LABOR RATES · SHOP BENCHMARKS
What an Hour of Technician Labor Really Costs Your Shop
Published shop rates, wage figures and staffing pressure, with a formula to set against your own numbers.
$149median shop labor rate per hour, 2025 (Fullbay survey)
54%of shops understaffed in 2025 (same survey, via FreightWaves)
Heavy-Duty Shop Labor Rate Benchmarks: What Shops Charged per Hour in 2025
The median in-shop rate rose about 10 percent in a year and mobile repair costs more per hour
Fullbay's sixth annual State of Heavy-Duty Repair report drew nearly 900 survey responses, with operational data from more than 3,400 shops in the US and Canada, according to Fleet Equipment. About 70 percent of respondents run independent repair shops, per FreightWaves, so the rates describe independents more than dealers. Fleet Equipment states the median shop labor rate as $149 in 2025, up from $135 in 2024, with mobile repair at $160 versus $145 for in-shop work.
MEDIAN LABOR RATES PER HOUR. FULLBAY SURVEY VIA FLEET EQUIPMENT AND FREIGHTWAVES
Median in-shop labor rate, 2025
$149
Median mobile repair rate
$160
Median shop rate, 2024
$135
Fleet Equipment calls $135 to $149 a 7.4 percent rise, FreightWaves calls it about 10 percent. The two dollar figures are identical, so the gap is in the wording. $14 on $135 is 10.4 percent. We use the dollar figures.
Technician Wage Benchmarks: Three Published Figures That Do Not Agree
Median pay is $29.70, $32 or $36.50 an hour depending on whose sample and definition you use
| Wage measure | Figure | Source and basis |
|---|
| Median hourly technician pay, 2025 | $32 (up from $30) | Fullbay report via Fleet Equipment |
| Median technician pay, 2025 | $36.50 (up 14.1%) | Fullbay report via FreightWaves |
| Diesel service technicians, median, May 2025 | $29.70 an hour, $61,770 a year | US Bureau of Labor Statistics |
The Bureau of Labor Statistics figure covers all diesel service technicians in May 2025, while the two Fullbay figures come from a survey of shops and report different medians from the same report. We cannot tell why they differ. Pick the one that matches your region and technician mix, and treat any of them as a reference point, not a target.
Know your real cost per labor hour? Schedule a call and we will log labor hours on every work order.
Compare your own rate with the published medians.
Technician Shortage and Hiring Pressure: Why Heavy-Duty Labor Rates Keep Rising
More than half of shops report being short of technicians and pay is rising faster than prices
FreightWaves reports that the median shop has eight employees and five technicians, so losing one person is a large hit. The workforce is also aging: the median respondent is 41 and only 17 percent are 30 or younger. The BLS projects 4 percent growth for diesel technicians from 2025 to 2035, with about 24,400 openings a year, mostly from people retiring or changing occupations.
SHOP STAFFING SIGNALS, 2025. FULLBAY SURVEY VIA FREIGHTWAVES
Shops understaffed in 2025
54%
Owners: hiring harder than prior year
40%
Shops offering technician bonuses
63%
How to Work Out Your Own Cost per Labor Hour and Compare It with the Benchmarks
Add wages, benefits and overhead, then divide by the hours technicians actually bill, not the hours they are paid
STEP 1
Total labor cost = wages + benefits and payroll taxes + training and tools
STEP 2
Billable hours = hours worked on work orders, not clocked-in hours
STEP 3
Cost per labor hour = (total labor cost + shop overhead) / billable hours
The gap between the $149 median shop rate and a $32 median wage is about 4.7 times, our own division of two medians from different measures. It is a reminder that a shop rate pays for more than the technician, including overhead, idle time and profit, not a margin to copy. Fullbay says 51 percent of shops review labor rates annually and 34 percent more than once a year, so a yearly review is common practice.
Labor Rate Review Checklist for Fleet Shops: Compare, Track and Reset Your Hourly Cost
Tick each step so your internal rate rests on logged hours, current wages and a clear comparison with outside shops
Track Technician Labor Hours and Repair Cost per Vehicle in FleetRabbit
FleetRabbit keeps work orders, service history and costs for every vehicle in one record, so you can see what repairs cost per truck and compare in-house labor with outside shop rates. Free for up to 3 vehicles, then $5 per vehicle per month.
Work orders per vehicle
Cost per vehicle
Service history
Free for 3 vehicles
Technician Labor Rate FAQs: Shop Rates, Wages, Mobile Repair and Staffing
Short answers on what shops charge and what technicians earn
What is the average heavy-duty shop labor rate?
Fullbay's 2025 survey puts the median in-shop rate at $149 an hour, up from $135 in 2024, with mobile repair at $160. These are medians from a survey where about 70 percent of respondents are independent shops.
What do diesel technicians earn?
The BLS reports a median of $29.70 an hour for May 2025. Fullbay survey medians are reported as $32 and $36.50 in two articles.
Why do mobile repair rates cost more?
Fleet Equipment reports a $160 median for mobile repair versus $145 in the shop. The articles do not explain the difference.
Is there a technician shortage?
FreightWaves reports 54 percent of surveyed shops were understaffed in 2025, and 40 percent of owners said hiring was harder than the year before.
How do I calculate my own labor cost?
Add wages, benefits, training and overhead, then divide by billable hours. Compare the result with outside shop rates.
What does FleetRabbit cost?
Know Your Labor Cost per Hour Before Your Next Rate Decision
Log hours and cost on every work order so your rate decisions rest on your own records.
Free tier for up to 3 vehicles · No credit card required · Records stored per vehicle
October 17, 2026
By Alex Rowan
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