Leasing Models Offer Fleets Cost-Control Options
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Fleet operators perform a balancing act between cost and risk when they evaluate trucking equipment leasing agreement options.
Full-service and unbundled leases each come with their own set of advantages and limitations, and the right choice ultimately depends on the individual fleet customer’s business and priorities.
It’s important for fleets to consider exactly what each contract means and their costs over the full term, said Brian Antonellis, senior vice president of fleet operations at , a truck leasing and life cycle management firm.
“The full-service model is more of an easy button,” he said. “It’s typically at a higher cost as well.”
Antonellis pointed out that full-service lease providers handle everything — from registrations to maintenance, tires and breakdowns, “but it’s at a higher cost than typically unbundling and breaking apart those individual components.
“Short of having accident or damage, there’s going be no cost applied to the customer other than defined wearable items — brakes, tires, clutches, items like that,” Antonellis said, adding that moving out of a full service, operators can take on risk at a lower cost.
“For example, if you move into a ‘pay-as-you-go’ agreement, you could dramatically lower your monthly maintenance contract amount,” Antonellis explained, “but if you lose an engine or a transmission and it fails, that’s on you.”
The Value of Predictability
Matt Svancara, chief operating officer for Aim Leasing Company, said a full-service lease provides a predictable, budgetable cost that fleets can count on for the duration of the agreement.
“You’re basically paying a monthly bill and mileage charge,” he said. “You are catching everything that’s involved in operating that truck.”
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Kevin Mattimore, senior vice president of sales for , said the value of full-service leasing goes further than the cost of the vehicle itself.
“It’s everything from maintenance to breakdown,” he said, noting that a full-service lease relieves operators of an administrative burden. “When you lease a car and you pick it up, you’ll see them again three to five years later; when you lease a commercial vehicle, our relationship is only begun.”
Companies that offer full-service leasing have the ability to provide deep insights into the fleet and operating costs, Mattimore said.
“Our value proposition is uptime,” he said. “Our core competence is maintenance and technology.”
Customers can track maintenance costs, contract terms and length, billing and progress against key performance indicators, Mattimore added.
Unbundled Leasing
Brandon Lairsen, vice president of fleet leasing for , said he believes most operators are well served by unbundled leasing products. Lairsen advises clients to take a deep dive into exactly what they are paying for when leasing.
“When you really break it down further, FSLs cover normal replacement of worn tires and brakes, an annual preventive maintenance FHWA inspection and oil and filter changes,” Lairsen said, meaning full-service lessees may find themselves paying more than they expected.
Jacob Brazier, TEL’s senior vice president of sales, said data the company collects from its customers shows the average FSL will cost 7 cents per mile over the course of the first year, whereas the actual cost to operate the truck is closer to 2 cents per mile.
“There’s a gap there of what it actually costs to run,” he said. “How do you get some of that cost back in your pocket?”
Proponents of both FSL and unbundled leasing say there’s room in the marketplace for each product to grow. (Ryder)
Brazier helps companies evaluate their fleets and puts them through basic stress tests for strengths and weaknesses. Other metrics include whether operators have a mixed fleet, own their own equipment, or have in-house maintenance.
“If you don’t have any of those things, then you start assessing a little bit further,” he said.
Unbundled leasing can save money for operators who handle their own maintenance and have the stomach for some risk.
Aaron Thompson, vice president of asset management for TEL, said unbundled leases work extremely well for fleets of mixed ownership/leased vehicles, where there are some capabilities to perform basic maintenance.
He explained that smaller fleets with unbundled leases can mitigate the risk of unpredicted maintenance costs by having access to the larger company’s purchasing power, resulting in lower costs for routine supplies.
“We manage a case from start to finish. We invoice their account; they don’t have to deal with the shop,” Thompson said.
Antonellis said Fleet Advantage also helps customers evaluate exactly how much their leases cost them compared with how much it costs them to operate the trucks.
“Certain fleets need certain services. They don’t all take advantage of every aspect of the FSL,” he said. “By breaking apart each of the components, and looking at that cost separated, you’re able to save significant dollars and still give the same benefits.”
Life Cycle Management
At the beginning of the life cycle, trucks are comparatively inexpensive to maintain — or covered under warranty for repairs — but the costs increase steadily over time. Beyond a certain cost point, it’s time to trade in and avoid the higher costs, and that must be done on a unit-by-unit evaluation.
Antonellis explained that trucks start at about 2 cents a mile to operate the first year. By year five, that’s increased to 10 cents a mile, and after that costs tend to increase exponentially.
“If a fleet allowed their trucks to run to exactly five years, 500,000 miles and they exited, that would be perfect, right? But that’s not reality. All trucks don’t run the same amount of miles, they’re not on the same routes,” he said. “When you can manage that life cycle for each individual truck and not be hampered by a schedule or, a [master lease agreement] document, it allows you to navigate the proper economic time to operate that truck.”
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Lessees and company representatives examine the vehicles as they approach the end of the lease cycle and vehicle conditions, for example, which trucks are lightly used, in heavier rotation or need to be released.
“Ultimately, we’re trying to manage the life cycle,” Antonellis said, noting fleets can build flexible lease agreements tailored to how much the truck is actually used over the course of the agreement.
Different fleets have different priorities, however. Some place a higher value on having newer trucks — and newer technology — over longer-held assets.
“Companies that require trucks for a specified period or have fluctuating demands can benefit from full-service leasing,” said Mike Willey, general assistant manager for . “They can avoid longer-term commitments while gaining access to necessary vehicles.”
Additionally, he said some companies want to always have the latest technology.
“Leasing allows them to upgrade to newer, more efficient models without the burden of ownership, depreciation and the need to remarket their trucks, especially during a down market,” Willey said.
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Carlos Mendiola, group director for product management at , said access to convenient, fast and reliable maintenance is a key driver for many of the company’s lessees.
Most of the fleets in Ryder’s portfolio have 10 trucks or fewer. Mendiola said many small fleets want to lean into their core business, not the business of operating trucks.
“We’ve got over 4,000 technicians across the network; 700-plus shops,” he said.
The shops are strategically located to have ready accessibility from main thoroughfares and shipping routes.
“Uptime is a critical thing,” Mendiola said.
Multiple Choices
Proponents of both full-service and unbundled leasing say there’s room in the marketplace for each product to grow, especially compared with outright purchases.
TEL’s Lairsen said many people choosing unbundled leasing do so with a shorter lease time. “When we have a shorter trade-cycle lease, you’re getting out of that equipment before the warranty runs out, before maintenance expenses go up and fuel economy goes down,” he said. “From a total cost of ownership perspective, it really resonates or is really starting to resonate with more and more companies.”
Companies with both full-service and unbundled lease products say there are ways for both models to offer a hedge against volatility.
Ryder’s Mendiola said current freight cycles remain depressed, and earnings calls across the economy, not just in the freight industry, are warning against uncertain impacts that trade, tariffs and environmental policies can have on freight and business in general. Fleets are trying to figure out how best to respond to the uncertain conditions, he said.
Most of the fleets in Ryder’s portfolio have 10 trucks or fewer. (Ryder)
“Given our position, we bring some comfort… predictability… stability, and we’ve got the leverage of our buying power to kind of help fleets through that,” Mendiola said. “We’re in the midst of the longest freight recession that I can remember in my career.”
Drivers of uncertainty include the volatility of the stock market, the market pressures applied from the pandemic and its subsequent recovery, the exponentially higher cost of equipment and reduced demand versus supply of equipment and operators in the marketplace, Mendiola said.
“It’s been an interesting ride,” he said. “Here we sit in 2025, in a completely different space and people are trying to figure out today. They know there’s a lot of scary things on the horizon. But we still need a commercial vehicle to move freight through the network at the end of the day.”
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