Rental activity significantly slumped in 2024, according to the National Private Truck Council’s 2025 Benchmarking Survey Report.
Fleets are exercising caution amid market and trade challenges, and the average heavy-duty rental commitment size was 12 units, down from 51 in previous years, the report found.
The data was collected from February through May of 2025 and reflects activity achieved during the calendar year 2024, the NPTC told Trucking Dive.
With booming business conditions, truck rentals can help test lanes to make sure markets are sustainable, said Tom Moore, an SVP at the NPTC, at a virtual press conference on Sept. 15 about the report.
“There’s no obligation on those rental trucks. They can be turned in at any time,” said Jim Lager, EVP of sales and rental at Penske Truck Leasing, the company that sponsored the report. “This is where we see the drop-off first, and this is where we see it pick back up first.”
Many carriers are also expressing caution over buying new equipment amid tariff pressures and a persistent downturn.
“There’s too much capacity in the markets. We’re in a freight recession still,” Lager said. He suggested the industry will remain “in the same environment for a while longer before we see things tighten up.”
Although overcapacity in the market is chipping away at freight opportunities, including rental activity, shipments, volumes and values have increased consecutively for 11 years in private fleets, the report noted.
Penske also noted the decline in rental activity is not a death blow.
“Rental is still a good product for us right now,” Lager said. “It’s off the highs of the last few years but still pretty strong in the grand scheme of things.”
Looking ahead over the next few years, most private fleets expect to expand their size or handle more of their company’s freight, while only 13% expect to shrink, Moore said.
