Ryder Q2 Profit Boosted by Supply Chain Service Wins
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profit and revenue rose year over year in the , benefiting from supply chain services wins and prices, plus a more stable truck sales, leasing and rental market.
The company posted a profit of $131 million in Q2, up 3.2% compared with $127 million in the same period 12 months earlier, with executives noting the benefits from a more diversified portfolio of services than Ryder boasted in the past.
Miami-based Ryder reported revenue of $3.189 billion in the most recent quarter, a tiny bit higher than the $3.182 billion in sales posted in the year-ago period.
Ryder ranks No. 6 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America, with Ryder Dedicated Transportation Solutions ranking No. 5 among truckload/dedicated carriers. The company also ranks No. 7 on the TT Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies.
Earnings Exceeded Expectations
“Earnings in the second quarter were above our expectations, driven by better supply chain performance, partially offset by additional used vehicle wholesale volumes,” said Ryder CEO Robert Sanchez.
Ryder’s rental and used vehicle sales operations are part of the company’s largest unit — Fleet Management Solutions.
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FMS posted a 1% decrease in revenue in Q2 to $1.47 billion from $1.48 billion.
The unit sold 6,200 used vehicles in the most recent quarter, up 3% year over year from 6,000 tractors and trucks.
Sales for the first half of 2025 fell 10% compared with the year-ago period, to 11,300 from 12,600 vehicles.
Ryder said the used vehicle sales reflected weaker market conditions and higher wholesale rather than retail sales so that the company could manage inventory levels. Wholesale sales offer a lower return than retail sales.
Tractor sales prices averaged 17% less in Q2 than in the same period 12 months earlier, while the average price for trucks fell a similar amount, the company added.
But tractor prices increased 3% while truck prices declined 10% compared with the first quarter of 2025, Ryder said.
Tractor prices are expected to continue to rise through the second half of 2025, Sanchez said during the company’s July 24 earnings call. “We would expect a steady increase, especially as we get into the fourth quarter,” he said.
Rental tractor and truck fleet utilization was 70%, up from 69% in the prior-year period, for a 7% smaller fleet, Ryder said.
Utilization increased for the first time since the third quarter of 2022, Chief Financial Officer Cristina Gallo-Aquino told analysts.
Some analysts and executives see rental fleet utilization as a key metric of industry health, with carriers renting trucks before they buy them.
That said, Sanchez noted many prospects in the leasing, rental and sales sectors continue to take a wait-and-see approach.
Leasing Operations on the Rise
Also, Ryder’s leasing operations continued to increase the amount of trucks in its fleet compared with tractors, said Chief Operating Officer John Diez. Trucks now comprise 60% of the company’s lease fleet, he added.
Ryder’s Supply Chain Solutions unit saw revenue rise 2% year over year to $1.37 billion from $1.34 billion in the year-ago period.
The unit won new business and was able to introduce and retain higher prices, the company said.
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Ryder’s Dedicated Transportation Solutions unit posted $606 million in revenue in Q2, a 5% decrease compared with $635 million a year earlier.
The company said the decline was due to a smaller fleet count due to the ongoing freight market recession.
With the freight recession continuing longer than expected, Ryder’s rolling stock capital expenditure is expected to be lower in 2025 than in 2024 at the same time as overall earnings continue to rise.
Free Cash Flow Set to Increase
Partly as a result, the company’s 2025 free cash flow is set to increase to a range of $900 million to $1 billion, some $500 million higher than previously expected.
A whopping $200 million of that sum, though, will come from the reintroduction of the tax bonus depreciation benefit by the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act signed by President Donald Trump on July 4.
The bonus depreciation also stimulates the economy and makes customers feel better about the economy, Sanchez said.
Sanchez said the increase in free cash flow and expectations that the upside for capex on trucks and tractors will remain limited for the coming three years will offer more opportunities for share buybacks and acquisitions.
Ryder expects to make acquisitions when the freight cycle turns, he said.
The freight market is moving ever closer to a turnaround, exemplified by the increase in tractor prices, the company’s top executive said. Rental demand and lease miles are still lagging among indicators, he added.
Sanchez said the level of uncertainty was decreasing quarter by quarter, starting in the most recent three-month period, and continuing through the end of the year.
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