Private Fleets Booming as Freight Industry Shifts

Private fleets are hot at the moment. Why? Shippers want reliable capacity and stable costs.

Key trends:

• 7.5% year-over-year jump in private fleet shipments
• 72% plan to expand in next 5 years
• 20% turnover vs. 85-100% for large for-hire fleets

Private fleet appeal surged in 2018's tight market. Gary Petty, NPTC CEO, explains: "It was a bleak time in freight markets." Shippers got burned by sky-high rates. Now they are more keen on keeping freight in-house.

Going Private

There are companies with long-established private fleets already. Here are some of the rankings of the major companies with their fleets (the top is #1 in their industry)

• Wholesale/Retail:Walmart: 10,670 tractors, 80,000 trailersAmazon: 3,899 tractors, 10,400 trailers
• Food Service:Sysco: 9,202 tractors, 11,311 straight trucks, 13,500 trailersUS Foods: 6,194 tractors, 4,800 trailersPerformance Foodservice: 4,631 tractors, 5,545 trailers
• Beverage:PepsiCo: 10,555 tractors, 17,000 straight trucksReyes Holdings: 6,990 tractors, 16,100 trailers
• Agriculture/Food Processing:Tyson Foods: 2,650 tractors, 5,015 trailers
• Petroleum/Chemical:Halliburton: 4,800 tractors, 12,600 trailers

Most companies with their own trucks plan to grow. A recent survey found that 72% of these companies want to add more drivers, trucks, or shippers in the next 5 years.

Source: Freight Waves | Transport Topics1 , 2