Ryder Launches Drop-and-Hook Trailer Service for Freight Brokerage Solution

Utilizing trailers from COOP by Ryder^®, the new drop-and-hook trailer service increases flexibility, efficiency, and productivity for shippers and carriers

Ryder System, Inc.  announced a new drop-and-hook trailer service to complement its growing freight brokerage business. By leveraging available capacity through COOP by Ryder, the leading peer-to-peer truck- and trailer-sharing platform, customers have access to a dynamic fleet of dry and refrigerated trailers. Currently, COOP has more than 6,000 trailers listed across the United States, with inventory growing daily.

“Despite a severe capacity shortage in the U.S., Ryder is in a unique position to tap into a sizeable pool of underutilized trailers through our vehicle-sharing platform,” says Dave Belter, vice president and general manager of transportation management at Ryder. “By blending the expertise of our freight brokerage team with the trailer capacity available on COOP and our network of 45,000 qualified carriers, we have created a new solution to solve our customers’ needs.”

With Ryder’s drop-and-hook trailer service, customers can rent one or more trailers to preload on their own schedules and then schedule for carrier pickup as needed, or customers can keep the trailers onsite for additional storage when warehouse capacity is tight. And, the majority of the 48- and 53-foot dry and refrigerated trailers have digital tracking available so shippers can keep track of their loads.

“Shippers gain flexibility and efficiency, and carriers improve productivity by eliminating time wasted waiting for live loads. And, in this case, vehicle owners listing with COOP have the opportunity to earn even more revenue,” says Romain Rousseau, vice president of COOP. “With COOP scaling rapidly and Ryder’s continued growth, it’s exciting to look across the broader business, find synergies, and develop innovative solutions that answer our customers’ needs.”

APL Cargo Inc. started leveraging the COOP platform in April to rent out its idle trailers, earning more than $728,000. And, with the recent roll out of the drop-and-hook trailer service, APL Cargo has increased its rental days by 900, earning an additional $57,000.

“COOP has been simply amazing to work with. The vehicle sharing platform has enabled us to increase asset utilization and generate a significant amount of revenue in just a few months,” says Grigore Canali, CEO of APL Cargo. “Having the ability to offer affordable access to tractors and trailers on demand and in a variety of locations across the U.S. has been a game changer!”

Both COOP and Ryder’s freight brokerage business announced expansions earlier this year.

Building on 250% year-over-year growth since its 2018 launch, COOP announced in February that it would expand nationwide making more than 50,000 trucks and trailers from 14,000 trusted businesses available to customers.

And, building on 175% year-over-year growth, Ryder’s freight brokerage business announced in June the opening of a new office in Nashville, Tennessee, plus two additional locations planned for 2023. The expansion is part of the company’s strategy to grow its broader transportation solution, which offers customers flexibility with several levels of service and capacity, backed by technologies that provide real-time visibility and collaboration; digital freight matching and backhaul opportunities; automated load booking; business intelligence and analytics tools to enable better future decision making; and making the payment cycle quicker and easier for carriers.

Ryder’s freight brokerage division is part of its transportation management solution, which purchases and/or executes $7.4 billion in freight moves on behalf of customers annually, including approximately $250 million in brokerage services.

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