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Equipment Downtime Cost Statistics 2026

For construction plant, an idle machine’s own ownership cost is small next to the contract clock: at California’s 2026-27 equipment rates an idle 20-tonne excavator costs about US$131 a day to own, while Florida charges US$3,498 for each day a US$5 million to under US$10 million road contract runs late. In large manufacturing, Siemens and Senseye put an unproductive hour at US$36,000 to US$2.3 million. There is no universal downtime rate, so every figure here keeps its source and scope.

MapTrack compiled the 28 figures on this page from 19 published sources. Each one is shown with the organisation that published it, the publication year and the source page MapTrack reviewed. Review status and material scope limits are shown with each figure.

Industry data on the financial impact of unplanned equipment downtime, with the sample, evidence status and source limitations shown beside each figure. Citation tools are available only for verified and source-reviewed figures.

To turn a maintenance plan into scheduled work, explore maintenance and work orders.

Last updated: September 2026 · 24 reviewed figures with citation tools · 4 claim checks withheld from syndication

Lachlan McRitchie

Lachlan McRitchie

GM of Operations

Published 4 May 2026

What a day of downtime costs a contractor

MapTrack calculations from public 2026 US government schedules: what an idle machine still costs to own, what a working one costs, the wage of an operator left waiting, and what a state road contract charges for each day it runs late. Each card shows the rows and arithmetic behind it.

US$131 a day

What an idle 20-tonne excavator costs to own

A 20-tonne-class excavator that is broken down or standing idle still costs about US$16.39 an hour to own, or US$131 over an eight-hour day, before repairs, operator wages, a replacement machine or any delay penalty.

Cite as: MapTrack Industry Statistics, https://www.maptrack.com/statistics/equipment-downtime-cost#downtime-idle-excavator-ownership-2026

US$61 to US$228 a day

Idle ownership cost across common construction machines

Common construction machines cost about US$61 to US$228 a day to own while idle: US$61 for a compact track loader, US$131 for a 20-tonne excavator, US$153 for a motor grader, US$176 for a mid-size wheel loader and US$228 for a 30-tonne excavator.

Cite as: MapTrack Industry Statistics, https://www.maptrack.com/statistics/equipment-downtime-cost#downtime-idle-ownership-range-2026

US$96.41 an hour

What a working 20-tonne excavator costs per hour

A 20-tonne-class excavator costs US$96.41 an hour to own and operate before the operator's wage, under California's 2026-27 equipment rate for a Caterpillar 320.

Cite as: MapTrack Industry Statistics, https://www.maptrack.com/statistics/equipment-downtime-cost#downtime-excavator-operating-rate-2026

US$28.66 an hour

Median wage of a US construction equipment operator

US construction equipment operators earned a median US$28.66 an hour, or US$59,600 a year, in May 2025, so a paid eight-hour wait beside a stopped machine costs about US$229 in wages alone.

Cite as: MapTrack Industry Statistics, https://www.maptrack.com/statistics/equipment-downtime-cost#downtime-operator-wage-us-2025

US$3,498 a day

Late-completion charge on a US$5 million to under US$10 million road contract

Florida's transportation department charges US$3,498 for every calendar day a US$5 million to under US$10 million road contract finishes late, and US$11,171 a day plus 0.005% of the excess on contracts of US$40 million or more.

Cite as: MapTrack Industry Statistics, https://www.maptrack.com/statistics/equipment-downtime-cost#downtime-liquidated-damages-fdot-2026

US$1,318 to US$11,171 a day

Daily late-completion charge across every size of Florida road contract

Florida's transportation department charges between US$1,318 and US$11,171 for each calendar day a road contract finishes late, rising with contract size from under US$300,000 to US$40 million or more, where 0.005% of the excess is added.

Cite as: MapTrack Industry Statistics, https://www.maptrack.com/statistics/equipment-downtime-cost#downtime-late-completion-range-fdot-2026

Worked example, one day on a US$5 million to under US$10 million Florida road contract: a broken-down 20-tonne excavator costs US$131 to own while it sits (Caltrans 2026-27), and a paid operator waiting beside it about US$229 at the median wage (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025). If the breakdown holds up the critical path for that day, the late-completion charge alone is US$3,498 (Florida Department of Transportation, FY 2026-27), about 27 times the idle machine's own cost. In this example the idle machine's ownership cost, before any repair bill, is the smallest line: the people and the contract clock waiting on it cost far more.

The same question, checked against two more federal schedules

The figures above come from one state schedule. These two come from different US government sources and are published here so the method can be checked rather than taken on trust: what the Army Corps pays for a machine standing idle, and what an hour of lost machine time is worth once the operator is counted.

US$9.44 an hour

What the US Army Corps pays for a standing excavator

A 22-tonne-class excavator on standby, on site but not working, still costs US$9.44 an hour to own, against US$70.59 an hour for the same machine working.

Source: US Army Corps of Engineers, EP 1110-1-8 Construction Equipment Ownership and Operating Expense Schedule, Region 1, pamphlet year 2022 () · claim checked against source

From the 2022 edition of the schedule. Use it for the ownership-to-working ratio and the method, not as a 2026 rate.

Cite as: MapTrack Industry Statistics, https://www.maptrack.com/statistics/equipment-downtime-cost#downtime-idle-standby-usace-2022

US$74 to US$189 an hour

What an hour of lost machine time is worth

An hour a machine should have worked and did not is worth US$74 to US$189 across six common machine classes: the US government’s published all-in rate for that machine, plus the median wage of the operator standing beside it.

Cite as: MapTrack Industry Statistics, https://www.maptrack.com/statistics/equipment-downtime-cost#downtime-lost-machine-hour-fema-2025

Why the two idle figures differ: Caltrans applies a 0.17 delay factor to a 2026-27 rate and the Army Corps publishes a standby row at 13 per cent of its 2022 working rate, so the schedules agree on the shape of the answer, that an idle machine still costs roughly an eighth to a sixth of its working rate, while differing on the level because their base years, regions and purposes differ. They are published side by side and never averaged.

Downtime costs by industry

An Australian per-hour figure, vendor-study estimates for large manufacturing sectors, a verified per-day schedule from a US state road authority, and an explicit claim check for a construction range whose primary source could not be found.

US$1,318 to US$11,171 a day

Daily late-completion charge across every size of Florida road contract

Florida's transportation department charges between US$1,318 and US$11,171 for each calendar day a road contract finishes late, rising with contract size from under US$300,000 to US$40 million or more, where 0.005% of the excess is added.

Cite as: MapTrack Industry Statistics, https://www.maptrack.com/statistics/equipment-downtime-cost#downtime-late-completion-range-fdot-2026

US$36,000–$2.3m per hour

Cost of an hour of unplanned downtime in industry

A Siemens and Senseye 2024 vendor study of mainly large manufacturers estimated an unproductive hour at about US$36,000 in fast-moving consumer goods and US$2.3 million in a large automotive plant.

Source: Siemens / Senseye, The True Cost of Downtime 2024 () · archived copy · source reviewed, not independently verified

Cite as: MapTrack Industry Statistics, https://www.maptrack.com/statistics/equipment-downtime-cost#downtime-cost-manufacturing

No primary source found

The $2,000–$10,000 construction downtime range is unverified

Our review found no Construction Industry Institute publication supporting this widely repeated daily cost range.

Unverified claim check. Do not cite this as a measured finding.

Source: Widely attributed to the Construction Industry Institute; attribution not verified () · claim not verified

No underlying study or date has been located, so the 2024 year is the vintage of the secondary sources repeating it rather than of any measurement.

Citation and embed tools are disabled until this claim is verified against a primary measurement.

$2.3 million

Cost of one unproductive hour in automotive manufacturing

A Siemens and Senseye vendor study estimated an unproductive hour at a large automotive plant at US$2.3 million. It reported about US$36,000 per hour for fast-moving consumer goods; these figures should not be generalised beyond the surveyed large manufacturers.

Source: Siemens / Senseye, The True Cost of Downtime 2024 () · archived copy · source reviewed, not independently verified

Cite as: MapTrack Industry Statistics, https://www.maptrack.com/statistics/equipment-downtime-cost#downtime-automotive-hourly-2024

A$349,000 an hour

What an hour of unplanned downtime costs an Australian industrial business

Unplanned downtime costs the typical Australian industrial business close to A$349,000 an hour, against A$194,000 globally, and 24% of Australian businesses surveyed still rely on run-to-fail maintenance.

Source: ABB, Value of Reliability survey (Sapio Research), Australian release, 22 November 2023 () · source reviewed, not independently verified

The most recent national breakdown ABB has published from the Value of Reliability survey; no later Australian edition exists.

Cite as: MapTrack Industry Statistics, https://www.maptrack.com/statistics/equipment-downtime-cost#downtime-hourly-cost-australia-abb-2023

Annual downtime impact

Large-company and large-plant vendor estimates, kept within their stated sample rather than treated as all-business benchmarks.

11%

Annual revenue lost to unplanned downtime

A Siemens and Senseye 2024 vendor study estimated unplanned downtime at about 11% of combined revenue for the Fortune Global 500, or almost US$1.4 trillion a year.

Source: Siemens / Senseye, The True Cost of Downtime 2024 () · archived copy · source reviewed, not independently verified

Cite as: MapTrack Industry Statistics, https://www.maptrack.com/statistics/equipment-downtime-cost#downtime-lost-revenue

~$1.4 trillion

Annual cost of unplanned downtime to the 500 largest companies

A Siemens and Senseye vendor study estimated that unplanned downtime costs the world’s 500 largest companies by revenue almost US$1.4 trillion a year, about 11% of their combined revenue.

Source: Siemens / Senseye, The True Cost of Downtime 2024 () · archived copy · source reviewed, not independently verified

Cite as: MapTrack Industry Statistics, https://www.maptrack.com/statistics/equipment-downtime-cost#downtime-fortune500-annual

27 hours a month

Production time an average large plant loses to unplanned downtime

A Siemens and Senseye vendor study, covering mainly large manufacturers and heavy-industry producers, reported an average of about 27 unplanned-downtime hours and 25 incidents per facility per month.

Source: Siemens / Senseye, The True Cost of Downtime 2024 () · archived copy · source reviewed, not independently verified

Cite as: MapTrack Industry Statistics, https://www.maptrack.com/statistics/equipment-downtime-cost#downtime-plant-monthly-hours

Claim checks: figures that circulate without a source

A statistic repeated across vendor blogs and AI answers starts to look authoritative through repetition alone. Before citing a downtime figure, the question is not whether it sounds plausible but whether anyone measured it. Each check below traces one widely-quoted claim to its primary document, or says plainly that no measurement was found. If you have a primary source for a claim marked here, contact us and we will verify and cite it.

Misattributed

The $50 billion unplanned downtime figure is not a Deloitte measurement

The most-quoted downtime figure in industrial maintenance is credited to Deloitte, but Deloitte relayed it from a WSJ Custom Content page that cites no survey or method.

Unverified claim check. Do not cite this as a measured finding.

Source: IndustryWeek in collaboration with Emerson, How manufacturers can achieve Top Quartile performance, WSJ Custom Content () · archived copy · claim not verified

The origin page carries no publication date. Deloitte recorded accessing it on 7 March 2017, which is the earliest date the figure can be placed.

Citation and embed tools are disabled until this claim is verified against a primary measurement.

Same unsourced origin

The 42% of downtime caused by equipment failure claim shares that origin

The companion figure, that equipment failure causes 42% of unplanned downtime, appears in the same sentence pair on the same WSJ Custom Content page, with the same absence of any survey, sample or method.

Unverified claim check. Do not cite this as a measured finding.

Source: IndustryWeek in collaboration with Emerson, How manufacturers can achieve Top Quartile performance, WSJ Custom Content () · archived copy · claim not verified

The origin page carries no publication date; 2017 is the earliest date the figure can be placed, from Deloitte recording access on 7 March 2017.

Citation and embed tools are disabled until this claim is verified against a primary measurement.

Vendor blog origin

The 5-20% capacity-loss figure credited to Deloitte traces to an uncited vendor blog

Deloitte’s 2017 paper says poor maintenance can cut a plant’s productive capacity by 5-20%. Its endnote is a PTC blog that credits unnamed analysts, links no study and describes the loss as downtime’s cost, not maintenance strategy’s.

Unverified claim check. Do not cite this as a measured finding.

Source: PTC, Product Lifecycle Report: IoT Slashes Downtime with Predictive Maintenance (Gary Wollenhaupt), relayed by Deloitte Insights () · claim not verified

The post no longer exists at its original PTC address, which now redirects to a product page. The 6 January 2017 Wayback capture preserves it, and Deloitte recorded accessing it on 7 March 2017.

Citation and embed tools are disabled until this claim is verified against a primary measurement.

The reactive maintenance trap

A historical government guide, a vendor-platform work-order split and one insurer loss analysis, each with a different denominator and evidence type.

up to 30–40%

Cost opportunity of moving off reactive-heavy maintenance

A 2010 US Department of Energy guide synthesising older facility evidence reported a possible 30-40% predictive-maintenance opportunity versus reactive-heavy operations and 12-18% for preventive maintenance. These are historical guide estimates, not current software outcomes.

Source: US Department of Energy / PNNL, O&M Best Practices Guide () · archived copy · source reviewed, not independently verified

Cite as: MapTrack Industry Statistics, https://www.maptrack.com/statistics/equipment-downtime-cost#downtime-reactive-cost

9%

Faulty workmanship and maintenance is the third top cause of corporate insurance loss

An Allianz analysis of 534,456 corporate insurance claims found that faulty workmanship and maintenance incidents are the third largest cause of loss by value, accounting for 9% of claims value and 7% of claims by number.

Source: Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, Global Claims Review 2022 () · archived copy · source reviewed, not independently verified

Published in July 2022 and based on claims from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2021. Treat this as a historical five-year claims window, not a current-year loss forecast.

Cite as: MapTrack Industry Statistics, https://www.maptrack.com/statistics/equipment-downtime-cost#insured-loss-faulty-workmanship-maintenance

46.3%

Share of fleet maintenance work that is unplanned

Fleetio vendor-platform data, reported by FleetOwner, covered roughly 1.2 million assets and 8.85 million work orders. It classified 53.7% of vehicle maintenance as scheduled, 40.1% as unscheduled and 6.2% as emergency, so unplanned work represented 46.3%.

Source: FleetOwner, reporting Fleetio benchmark data () · source reviewed, not independently verified

Cite as: MapTrack Industry Statistics, https://www.maptrack.com/statistics/equipment-downtime-cost#fleet-unplanned-maintenance-ratio

Maintenance strategy and downtime: NIST evidence

A historical US manufacturing comparison. Read the groups and denominator together before applying it to another operation.

13.0% vs 4.0%

NIST US manufacturing downtime: most- and least-reactive groups

NIST's historical US manufacturing survey: most-reactive quartile downtime 13.0% of planned production time; least-reactive 4.0%. Small-group association, not causal savings; many group differences weren't statistically significant.

Source: NIST, Economics of Manufacturing Machinery Maintenance () · source reviewed, not independently verified

Published in 2020. Historical survey evidence, not a 2026 benchmark; the source-review date is not the measurement year.

Cite as: MapTrack Industry Statistics, https://www.maptrack.com/statistics/equipment-downtime-cost#nist-reactive-maintenance-downtime

20.1%

Equipment downtime reduction reported by CMMS users

Companies using a computerised maintenance management system reported an average 20.1% reduction in equipment downtime, in the A.T. Kearney and IndustryWeek survey of 558 companies reproduced by the US Department of Energy.

Source: US Department of Energy, O&M Best Practices Guide Release 3.0 (p.4.2), citing an A.T. Kearney and IndustryWeek survey of 558 CMMS users () · archived copy · claim checked against source

The underlying survey dates from 1994; the DOE republished it in Release 3.0 of its O&M guide in 2010, and no larger measured CMMS outcome survey has replaced it.

Cite as: MapTrack Industry Statistics, https://www.maptrack.com/statistics/equipment-downtime-cost#cmms-downtime-reduction-1994

Idle equipment and utilisation

A measured time-utilisation series from a US equipment rental fleet, where utilisation is the business, and a 2026 vendor survey of respondent-estimated underutilisation. Neither establishes a universal rate or a cause.

40-50%

Vendor-survey estimate of underutilised fleet equipment

Respondents to Teletrac Navman’s 2026 vendor survey estimated that 40 to 50% of their equipment was underutilised or unused; 67% reported assets held onsite but unused at least some of the time.

Source: Teletrac Navman, 2026 Equipment Utilization Report (via Construction Equipment) () · source reviewed, not independently verified

Cite as: MapTrack Industry Statistics, https://www.maptrack.com/statistics/equipment-downtime-cost#downtime-fleet-underutilised

66%

How much of a US equipment rental fleet was on hire in 2024

H&E Equipment Services reported its US equipment rental fleet was on hire 66.0% of the time in 2024, down from 68.8% in 2023 and 72.3% in 2022, measured as the original cost of equipment on rent against the whole fleet.

Source: H&E Equipment Services, Inc., Form 10-K for the year ended 31 December 2024 (US SEC) () · archived copy · claim checked against source

The last annual figure H&E published: Herc Holdings completed its acquisition of H&E on 2 June 2025, so no later year will follow.

Cite as: MapTrack Industry Statistics, https://www.maptrack.com/statistics/equipment-downtime-cost#fleet-rental-time-utilisation-2024

From reactive to preventive

Historical survey ranges reported in a 2010 US government guide, and a 2017 consultancy estimate drawn from client work. They are planning context, not current guaranteed outcomes.

12–18%

Cost savings from preventive vs reactive maintenance

A 2010 US Department of Energy guide synthesising older facility evidence reported an estimated 12% to 18% preventive-maintenance saving over reactive work. It is not a guaranteed software outcome.

Source: US Department of Energy, Federal Energy Management Program, O&M Best Practices Guide Release 3.0 (p.5.3) () · archived copy · source reviewed, not independently verified

Release 3.0 (August 2010) is the current edition of the DOE guide; no later release has been published.

Cite as: MapTrack Industry Statistics, https://www.maptrack.com/statistics/equipment-downtime-cost#pm-savings

10× ROI

Historical survey ranges for predictive-maintenance programs

A 2010 US Department of Energy guide synthesising older industry surveys reported ranges including 10 times ROI, 25-30% lower maintenance costs, 70-75% fewer breakdowns, 35-45% less downtime and 20-25% more production. These are historical survey ranges, not guaranteed current outcomes.

Source: US Department of Energy / PNNL, O&M Best Practices Guide () · archived copy · source reviewed, not independently verified

Cite as: MapTrack Industry Statistics, https://www.maptrack.com/statistics/equipment-downtime-cost#doe-pdm-program-results

10-20%

Uptime gain Deloitte attributes to predictive maintenance

Deloitte’s 2017 predictive maintenance paper says it can raise equipment uptime and availability by 10-20%, cut maintenance planning time by 20-50% and reduce overall maintenance costs by 5-10%.

Source: Deloitte Insights, Making maintenance smarter: Predictive maintenance and the digital supply network () · source reviewed, not independently verified

Cite as: MapTrack Industry Statistics, https://www.maptrack.com/statistics/equipment-downtime-cost#pdm-uptime-deloitte-2017

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Key findings

  • A broken-down 20-tonne excavator costs about US$131 a day to own while it stands idle (Caltrans 2026-27), against a US$3,498 daily late-completion charge on a US$5 million to under US$10 million Florida road contract (FDOT FY 2026-27).
  • Unplanned manufacturing downtime runs from about US$36,000 per hour in fast-moving consumer goods to US$2.3 million per hour in a large automotive plant.
  • The 2024 Siemens and Senseye vendor study reports nearly US$1.4 trillion, about 11% of combined revenue, for the world’s 500 largest companies by revenue.
  • A 2010 US DOE guide synthesising older evidence reported possible predictive-maintenance opportunity above 30% to 40% in reactive-heavy operations.
  • In one Fleetio dataset reported by FleetOwner, 46.3% of 8.85 million vehicle maintenance work orders were unscheduled or emergency work.
  • Teletrac Navman’s 2026 equipment-utilisation survey reported that respondents estimated 40% to 50% of their equipment was underused or unused. It is a surveyed starting point, not a universal rate.
  • The same 2010 guide reported a historical 12% to 18% range for preventive over reactive maintenance, not a current software guarantee.

Methodology

Every statistic on this page has a dated source review. Sources include government publications, research papers and clearly labelled vendor studies. Claims that failed review are presented as claim checks, not measurements. Each data point links to its source so readers can inspect the evidence and limits.

Statistics are reviewed quarterly and updated when newer data becomes available. A range retains the meaning used by its named source; it does not imply agreement across studies. A source review is not an independent replication. Monetary figures remain in their original reported currency.

Frequently asked questions

How much does equipment downtime cost per hour?

For construction plant, an idle machine's own ownership cost is small next to the contract clock: at California's 2026-27 equipment rates a 20-tonne excavator costs about US$16.39 an hour to own while it stands idle and US$96.41 an hour to own and operate, before the operator's wage, while Florida charges US$1,318 to US$11,171 for each day a road contract runs late, depending on its size (US$3,498 on a US$5 million to under US$10 million contract). In the Siemens and Senseye sample of mainly large manufacturers, an unproductive hour ranged from about US$36,000 to US$2.3 million. Calculate your own cost from lost output, idle labour, recovery costs and penalties.

What is the average annual downtime for manufacturing?

There is no defensible universal annual average. Siemens and Senseye report about 27 hours a month across roughly 25 incidents for the large plants in their 2024 study, or around 326 hours a year. That sample should not be generalised to every manufacturer.

How do you calculate equipment downtime cost?

Start with your own lost output, idle labour, recovery or replacement cost and any contractual penalties for each affected hour, then multiply by the measured duration. Do not substitute a cross-industry benchmark for those inputs.

What percentage of equipment downtime is unplanned?

A Fleetio benchmark reported by FleetOwner classified 40.1% of 8.85 million vehicle maintenance work orders as unscheduled and 6.2% as emergency, or 46.3% unplanned in that dataset. It is a fleet-platform sample, not a universal benchmark.

How does preventive maintenance reduce downtime costs?

A 2010 US Department of Energy guide synthesising older facility evidence reported 12% to 18% savings for preventive over reactive maintenance and possible predictive-maintenance opportunity above 30% to 40% in reactive-heavy operations. These historical ranges are not guaranteed software outcomes.

What industries have the highest downtime costs?

The strongest checked public evidence in this library is for large manufacturing: Siemens and Senseye report about US$36,000 per unproductive hour in fast-moving consumer goods and US$2.3 million in a large automotive plant. We withdrew widely repeated mining, construction and SME ranges that their cited sources did not support, and replaced the construction range with calculations from public equipment-rate and contract schedules.

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