Ryder System Inc (NYSE: R) is expanding and enhancing its North American rental fleet with 6,700 new trucks, tractors, trailers, and vans to meet accelerating demand as the economy continues to rebound.
These new vehicles, which represent multiple classes of tractors, trailers, refrigerated equipment, box trucks, and light-duty vans, will expand Ryder’s commercial rental fleet and replace older model vehicles that are being retired.
The 2011 refresh adds to the infusion of 4,900 new vehicles introduced in 2010 to accommodate anticipated economic growth. Together, the nearly 12,000 new vehicles raise the percentage of model-year-2010 or newer vehicles in the fleet to more than 40% and the total fleet count to nearly 30,000.
To determine the scope and breadth of the vehicle order, Ryder examined utilization and market trends across its customer base.
“Last year, we identified increasing demand across all classes of vehicles— light-duty vans and trucks, medium-duty trucks, heavy-duty day cabs and sleeper tractors, and dry, refrigerated, and flatbed trailers,” said Mark Cicchini, vice-president of rental for Ryder. “This year, we’re seeing even more of an uptick in demand.
“Together, the 2010 and 2011 fleet expansions will provide our customers with greater availability of all classes, including Ryder’s Light Duty MetroVan,” he said. “We’ve also added more refrigerated equipment to help our customers comply with recent FDA Food Safety Modernization legislation and more environmentally friendly emissions standards in certain regions.”
All of the model-year-2010 or newer vehicles comply with the latest EPA 2010 emissions standards.
Ryder has already begun integrating the new equipment into its fleet and will continue to roll out new vehicles through April 2011. As vehicles are retired from Ryder’s rental fleet, they will become part of the company’s used-vehicle inventory. Extending the useful life of retired vehicles by moving them into Ryder’s used-vehicle inventory increases the availability of newer, highly maintained Ryder Road Ready vehicles for sale.
For more information, visit www.ryder.com.
