SIC 7513 Truck Rental and Leasing, Without Drivers

SIC 7513

This category covers establishments primarily engaged in short-term rental or extended-term leasing (with or without maintenance) of trucks, truck tractors, or semi-trailers without drivers. Establishments primarily engaged in finance leasing of trucks are classified in Finance, SIC 6159: Miscellaneous Business Credit Institutions; those renting trucks with drivers are classified in various trucking and courier service industries; and those primarily engaged in renting and leasing, except finance leasing, of industrial trucks are classified in SIC 7359: Equipment Rental and Leasing, Not Elsewhere Classified.

NAICS CODE(S)

532120

Truck, Utility Trailer and RV (Recreational Vehicle) Rental and Leasing

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

The truck rental and leasing industry was very healthy in the mid-2000s, generated 2005 revenues of $17.7 billion and 2006 revenues of $25.2 billion. Although major companies such as U-Haul and Ryder commanded the lion's share of revenue, there were over 10,000 establishments in the U.S., the vast majority of which were small establishments employing fewer than 25 people. Total industry employment was over 85,000, well over the 70,400 people employed just two years earlier in 2006. The average establishment generated about $4.2 million in revenues.

Truck rental and leasing with no drivers represented 6,341 establishments, or 61.6 percent of the market. Together, industry revenues were approximately $11.3 million in 2006. Truck leasing without drivers accounted for 1,576 establishments, or 15.3 percent of the overall market. Truck rental without drivers accounted for 2,377 establishments, or 23.1 percent of the market. States representing the majority of truck rental and leasing establishments were California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Ohio.

BACKGROUND AND DEVELOPMENT

Growth in the truck rental market slowed in the mid-1990s after expansive growth in the late 1980s and early 1990s, as U-Haul and Ryder competed for expansion of dealer locations and market share in the consumer truck market. Ryder sold its Ryder Consumer Truck Rental division in 1996, but the Budget Group, the new owners, have indicated a commitment to their current name and market identity as Ryder TRS.

In 1999, U-Haul International led the industry with about 190,000 trucks for rent from over 15,000 dealerships. It reported U.S. rental revenues of over $1.5 billion and employed 14,400 workers. U-Haul's business consisted entirely of rentals to do-it-yourself movers.

Ryder TRS owned a fleet of 33,500 trucks at 3,500 dealer locations. It reported 1999 U.S. rental revenues of $550 million. Approximately 70 percent of its business was on the consumer side, with the remainder from business rentals.

Among important trends affecting the industry in the 1990s were changing tax laws, stricter environmental regulations, and efforts by large corporations to keep trucking assets off their books. These all seemed to indicate a strong future for the leasing industry. Larry Miller, then president of Iowa-based Ruan Transportation Management Systems, the third largest truck-leasing company with about 10 percent of the market, told Commercial Carrier Journal in 1990, "Pride of ownership is a luxury. It's the old way of doing business." Among newer regulations affecting fleet ownership were federal laws that required commercial vehicles over 10,000 pounds gross weight to undergo an extensive safety inspection every 12 months; in addition, there were new Environmental Protection Agency regulations regarding underground storage tanks, and the federal Clean Air Act required vehicles to meet tougher emission standards.

Amtralease, a network of independent leasing companies, estimated that 30 percent of all commercial trucks in the early 1990s were leased, compared to less than 20 percent in the 1980s...