A recent headline in Overdrive caught my attention:

“Carrier lease-purchase programs ‘meaningful’ for at least half of lessee operators”

In reading the article and the related comments from drivers about both good and bad outcomes from lease-purchase agreements, I decided to comment on this issue and FMCSA’s typical one-size-fits-all, throw the baby out with the bath water, knee jerk reaction that would disallow companies from leasing to their drivers at all.

Their proposal to do away with this established business practice not only does not accurately fall under their authority to do so but also is a bad idea and represents just another example of a governmental agency getting into the middle of a business contract because some carriers take advantage of lessees, and some drivers are naïve about the truthfulness of driver recruiters.

When our industry was de-regulated in 1980, The Interstate Commerce Commission was sunset in 1995, and FMCSA created in 1999, small carriers and owner-operators were invited into long-haul trucking and allowed to operate under CONTRACT authority and not COMMON authority. Many drivers decided to get their own authority and operate under that authority as one-truck owner-operators. Many chose to “lease-on” to larger entities and run under their authority, thus creating the leased-on business model. From these generally large company models, the driver and the company entered into a contract that spelled out their respective terms, conditions, and mutual expectations. From these contracts came many creative concepts that would mutually benefit both parties – the driver and the company. Over the years it seems that some companies have pushed the envelope to such an extreme as to be viewed as predatory lessors not only with equipment leases, but with other areas in the contract such as fuel programs or other ancillary offerings. Many began to treat their lessees as profit centers and in some cases, the company made more money off their drivers than they did hauling freight. Most of the F— The Driver, (FTD) companies gained a reputation as predatory and their driver retention and driver turnover rates reflected that. However, for every one company that is considered predatory, there are ten who sincerely put these well-thought-out contracts together to help the driver succeed, take ownership of his own truck, and drive long-term as a leased-on owner-operator.

Let’s begin to regulate and legislate from a positive perspective rather than a negative one that represents an attempt to reach perfection. Let’s let the marketplace repair itself and not mandate industry wide policy based on a few bad actors. Let’s let true de-regulation create the level competitive playing field that it is designed to accomplish.

As some drivers pointed out, there are some cases where the lease purchase agreement is the only option their particular circumstances will allow.

Think about it: How many people ever pay off their house?