Fleet management company Ryder System has announced today that it is expanding its peer-to-peer truck sharing platform COOP to Orlando, Florida. The idea behind COOP is to connect truck owners with unused vehicles with businesses that are interested in renting those vehicles, with the intent of maximizing vehicle utilization.
The COOP platform allows truck owners to list their vehicles, which can then be rented out to vetted business owners.
“Hundreds of businesses have already generated revenue through COOP by sharing their commercial vehicles on the platform,” said Rich Mohr, the CTO of fleet management solutions at Ryder System. “COOP aims to bring the same model to Central Florida by giving Orlando, a bustling tourist destination with an abundance of food, beverage, and production companies, the same opportunity to generate revenue from idle equipment.”
Trucking utilization, which had witnessed a decline over 2019, is seeing a slight resurgence as evidenced by SONAR’s Logistics Managers Index (LMI) on Transportation Utilization that shows a bump up since July. The LMI is a collection of indices that are based on a value of 50.0, with values above it indicating expansion and values below 50.0 pointing towards a contraction.
Solutions like the COOP platform help truck owners and operators to weather market price volatility, as it allows them to rent out vehicles when they find it unrealistic to haul loads during a slowdown in the market. COOP was initially launched in Georgia, but with its success in the region, Ryder Systems has now expanded services to parts of Florida.
COOP estimates that out of the 8 million commercial vehicles available in the U.S., roughly one-fourth of all vehicles sit idly for more than one day per week, excluding weekends. Registered users on the COOP platform can look to earn over $10,600 annually by just renting out their vehicles on the platform – revenue that would never materialize if the trucks sit idle in the garage.
Ryder System also provides complete liability coverage for the vehicles to the tune of $1 million including round-the-clock roadside assistance, making sure the vehicles are well attended to when they are out on rent. Apart from owner-operators, the COOP platform can be leveraged by larger businesses as well.
Bowman Trailer Leasing, which is traditionally into trailer and container leasing, found value in COOP as it helped the company digitalize and streamline its operations. The company specializes in leasing drive-on trailers, currently owning 53,000 units and operates through 33 branches across the U.S.
“Through the COOP platform, our business has already been able to garner thousands of dollars of incremental rental revenue during the slower summer months,” said Leonardo D’Agostini, who is part of the business development team at Bowman Trailer Leasing. “The COOP platform really shows how the transportation industry is evolving and how Ryder is committed to using innovation to support large and small businesses like ours.”