How Do Fleets Secure Trailers Fast When Disaster Hits?
TEN's CCO says equipment access starts impacting response timelines within 24 hours of an event — why pre-positioned trailer networks beat scrambling for spot capacity.
How quickly does equipment availability affect disaster response?
Equipment access begins impacting disaster response timelines within the first 24 hours of an event, according to Courtney Shaffer Lovold, CCO at Transportation Equipment Network (TEN), a trailer leasing and fleet services provider. Organizations that define partner networks and equipment access points before an event occurs typically activate response plans faster and move essential goods with greater confidence than fleets scrambling for spot capacity as demand spikes.
Why reactive equipment strategies slow relief efforts
Disaster response rarely comes with long lead times. Although hurricanes can be forecast days in advance, most events develop quickly and require immediate action. As demand spikes within hours of a major event, organizations without pre-positioned equipment find themselves scrambling to secure additional capacity, slowing response efforts at the very moment speed matters most.
The difference between disruption and resilience often comes down to preparation. Industry leaders say fleets are rethinking how equipment strategy fits into broader continuity planning, moving from reactive approaches to more proactive models designed to keep goods moving when it matters most.
What TEN Ready offers for continuity planning
Lovold explained that having an established equipment strategy in place before an event occurs is valuable because it eliminates the lag time between disaster declaration and trailer availability. With solutions like TEN Ready, fleets can integrate equipment access into their broader continuity planning rather than treating trailer capacity as a separate procurement problem to solve under crisis conditions.
The approach shifts equipment from a just-in-time variable to a pre-positioned resource. Fleets that define their partner networks early can activate response plans without waiting for spot-market availability or negotiating terms while competing with dozens of other organizations chasing the same limited pool of trailers.
What small fleets should plan now
Small fleets and owner-operators moving relief loads should establish equipment-access agreements before disaster strikes. Waiting until a hurricane makes landfall or a wildfire closes a corridor means competing for trailers at peak demand, often at premium rates and with no guarantee of availability in the affected region.
Pre-positioning relationships with leasing providers and defining equipment access points in advance turns a 24-hour scramble into a same-day activation. For fleets that move FEMA loads, medical supplies, or emergency fuel, that timeline difference determines whether goods arrive when they're needed or after the critical window has closed.
