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“We continue to work with carriers that run anywhere from 10 units to over 1,000 units, and the number one issue continues to be supplying satisfactory equipment to contractors, owner-operators and drivers. The equipment is either hard to find, is going up in price, or has too many miles to be a profitable unit for the contractor and the carrier,” said Jon James, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for OnRamp Transportation Services.
Numerous research outlets reported that April 2012 used unit sales dropped nearly 20% from March 2012 and were down nearly 30% from April 2011, almost exclusively due to limited inventory. Pricing responded to the tight supply, climbing nearly 15% month over month and year over year. Mileage per used unit is also up 2-5%, with average miles per unit approaching 550,000 miles.
“This poses quite the challenge to contractors and carriers,” said Spencer Angerbauer, President of OnRamp Transportation Services. “The cost in maintenance per mile on these older, high mileage units, given their increasing purchase cost, is just too much for some contractors or carriers to bear. However, the alternative of new is equally as expensive as manufacturers continue to push the costs of emissions compliance to the customer.”
OnRamp Transportation Services does have used one to four-year old units in its inventory at onramptransportation.com, which it is having to continuously restock. “We are moving fast to keep adequate inventory on the lot. The relationships we have with carriers throughout the country keep a steady flow of contractors and owner-operators coming in, and with our willingness to approve some of these drivers, inventory is a must to keep in stock,” said James.
OnRamp said its business model enables them to maintain pricing and availability for its target market, which is the independent contractor market. However, most other outlets, according to James, will see price increases in the range of 5% to 10% before the year is through.
About OnRamp Transportation Services
OnRamp Transportation Services is a wholly owned, privately held equipment leasing, sales and contractor services company headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT. As a full-service transportation resource, OnRamp is the first company to offer both equipment and business services to carriers, contractors and owner-operators. Along with its EQUINOX business services arm, OnRamp exists to help hard-working, independent-
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