The scale applies to all costs though. Is there any reason to think that a person, a vehicle, maintenance and fuel, and taxes aren't relatively flat costs compa

The scale applies to all costs though. Is there any reason to think that a person, a vehicle, maintenance and fuel, and taxes aren't relatively flat costs compared to the stuff inside the truck. Sure more weight means a bit more fuel, but it's hardly a linear relationship, and gasoline is far more affordable than a driver. However, think about the problem some. glassdoor says UPS drivers make ~65K a year. Gotta add ~15K to that to consider benefits and payroll tax (and I believe I am underestimating here). Let's say the vehicle costs 150K and can be driven 10 years. That's 15K per year. Let's assume 150 gallons of gas a week (lots of driving going on). That's ~25K a year. Then let's assume maintenance of the vehicle is 10K per year. We've gotten up to 50K per year on additional expenses. Look, my estimates may be off, but likely not enough off to say that the driver isn't the most expensive part.