Trailer Leasing Utilization Tops Pandemic Peak as Supply Contracts

Why are trailer leasing companies running out of equipment?

Trailer leasing utilization at Premier Trailer Leasing has climbed to the highest levels the company has ever recorded, surpassing even peak pandemic-era demand. The driver is not a surge in freight volumes but a contraction in supply: carriers running older equipment have been exiting the market, leaving those that remain competing for newer trailers from leasing companies.

"The trailer market right now is extremely hot. It is something we honestly did not see coming at the beginning of this year," said Craig Barth, CFO of Premier Trailer Leasing. "Today, our utilization is running as high as it ever has, even beating some of our peak utilization during the pandemic."

Which trailers are hardest to find?

The tightest segment of the market is trailers aged 10 years and newer. Customers originally sought 0-to-5-year-old units, but that cohort has been entirely absorbed. Demand has also been reinforced by years of underinvestment at the manufacturing level: Barth noted that trailer manufacturers have been building well below replacement volumes for the last three years, leaving carriers that preferred to retire trailers at five years now running equipment seven, eight, or nine years old and facing rising maintenance costs.

Demand firmed noticeably in the May-June timeframe, Barth said, when conversations with customers about late third-quarter and fourth-quarter needs turned "flat out optimistic." Premier does not normally purchase new equipment in the fourth quarter (typically a period when trailers return to the yard) but this year it is buying as much as it can.

What equipment types are seeing the most pressure?

Flatbed trailers are seeing particularly acute pressure, driven in part by data center construction activity, with availability rather than price the primary constraint. On the dry van side, resilient consumer spending heading into the holiday season is adding to demand.

Carrier CapEx constraints are also steering business toward leasing. With fleets simultaneously cycling through truck renewals and contending with elevated fuel costs and rising driver pay, many operators lack budget to purchase trailers outright. "A lot of our customers right now are going through renewal cycles on the truck side of things," Barth said, "and they're having to focus their energies there."

The shift mirrors broader capacity dynamics: tender rejections jumped above 14% as Labor Day tightened freight, and spot rates rose across all three equipment types for the first time since May, signaling that carriers with available equipment are gaining pricing power.

What fraud scheme is targeting trailer renters?

Barth issued a warning about a scheme targeting trailer renters. Bad actors are monitoring drop yards and distribution centers for trailers sitting idle for three to four days, then advertising those units (falsely) for rent on Facebook Marketplace. The listings use AI-generated invoices and demand payment via Zelle or Venmo. Victims have lost between $700 and $1,000 per incident before authorities are notified.

Barth said Premier never accepts Zelle or Venmo payments and urged anyone considering a trailer rental to call one of the company's 42 branch locations across 31 states to verify legitimacy before sending money.

What this means for small fleets

Fleets that deferred trailer purchases during the freight recession now face a market where availability, not price, is the binding constraint. Leasing companies are buying as much new equipment as manufacturers can deliver, but three years of below-replacement production means the gap between demand and supply will not close quickly. Carriers running trailers past their normal retirement age should budget for higher maintenance costs and plan lease renewals earlier than usual. For flatbed operators, data center construction activity is likely to keep availability tight through 2027.