Several years ago, many fleets thought owning their own trucks made the most financial sense. But numerous changes, including the increasing complexity of both heavy- and medium-duty trucks and tractors; stricter government regulations; and the need for financial flexibility have brought full-service leasing to the forefront.
More and more companies are considering leasing as a way to allow them to focus on their core competencies, not focusing on trucks and maintenance.
Operating a fleet of leased trucks helps companies get their product to market in a timely, reliable and cost-effective way, while leaving the maintenance of the vehicles to trusted experts.
More Complex Trucks to Maintain
The trend to full-service leasing is expected to accelerate even faster in the next few years as the complexity of trucks continues to evolve. With those influencers, more and more fleets will enter into a full-service leasing agreement. If you’re running fewer than 50 trucks, it’s going to be increasingly difficult to justify your own shop.
Bottom line, with new technology in trucks, full-service leasing allows you to off-load maintenance to a trusted partner. It’s the leasing company’s job to make sure equipment is well maintained and running properly. You insulate yourself from unpredictable or erratic maintenance costs. That burden is shouldered by the leasing company.
Preservation of Capital
Given the turbulence in the capital markets and a shifting economy many firms have determined that they must preserve capital to fund other parts of their business that offer a better return, as opposed to sinking capital into rolling stock, he says. There are countless other companies taking a strong cash position so they can take advantage of acquisition and expansion opportunities in the market. “Bottom line, using a leasing company to fund trucks makes good financial sense when you are trying to preserve capital for other projects,” Southern adds.
Avoiding Downtime
In the world of just-in-time deliveries, few fleets can afford to have a truck sitting on the side of the road for an extended period of time, particularly if it is loaded. Leasing helps eliminate this risk by increasing uptime. Many leasing contracts have a substitute vehicle feature that provides a replacement vehicle when it’s needed. When it comes down to it, leasing is not only about providing a truck — it’s about providing an efficient method for deliveries.
