The Official Blog for Penske Truck Leasing, Truck Rental and Logistics

Motor carriers, private fleets and shippers are navigating an increasingly complex operating landscape. Economic pressures, shifting demand patterns and evolving trade policies are shaping the need for transportation and warehouse capacity, and the ability to adapt to capacity fluctuations is crucial to maintaining operations.

Factors Influencing Capacity Fluctuations

Several interconnected factors influence the supply and demand for freight as well as capacity.

The Economy: Economic growth typically leads to increased demand for goods, driving up the need for transportation services and warehousing space. However, economic slowdowns or inflationary pressures can reduce consumer spending and business expansion, cooling demand for goods and slowing business growth.

Consumer Confidence: Economic optimism directly impacts consumer spending, and confident consumers are more likely to spend money on everything from clothing to cars. Consumer confidence also affects spending on services, travel and entertainment. A shift in consumer sentiment, whether positive or negative, can lead to fluctuations in freight demand.
Housing and Construction: Housing starts, existing home sales and construction are significant drivers of freight demand. On the housing side, there is an ongoing need for raw materials for new construction, as well as products for home renovations, upgrades and moving. Infrastructure improvements, such as highway and bridge construction, also fuel demand for freight.

Manufacturing: Manufacturing levels and factory output influence the amount of inbound and outbound freight at production facilities. Manufacturing can also impact the overall economy, with the National Association of Manufacturers estimating that for every $1.00 spent in manufacturing, there is a total impact of $2.64 to the overall economy.

Seasonal Surges: Trucking has a variety of peak seasons. Historically, the most notable peak typically occurs in the fall as retailers stock up for the holiday shopping season. Even though seasonal surges may be brief, they can strain capacity.

Weather Events: Severe weather events, such as hurricanes or snowstorms, can disrupt expected freight flows and create sudden spikes in demand. Consumers may rush to stock up on groceries or other essentials ahead of an event, and emergency supplies or reconstruction materials can also increase the need for trucking services.

Global Trade: Geopolitical disruptions, trade agreements, tariffs and customs regulations can impact the flow of goods, which directly influences the demand for trucking and warehousing.

Trucking Trends: Freight rates play a crucial role in influencing trucking capacity. When rates are high, new carriers may enter the market, adding capacity. As rates fall, financial pressures may increase, causing some carriers to leave the market, reducing capacity.

Solutions To Address Capacity Fluctuations

Given the significant number of variables that influence both the supply of and demand for capacity, fleets need to remain agile, especially in an uncertain operating environment.

There are several tools and strategies to help businesses prepare for capacity fluctuations:

Flexible Leases: Full-service leases provide a flexible way for fleets to replace equipment and adjust capacity without committing to long-term investments in purchased vehicles. This enables businesses to scale their operations up or down in response to demand fluctuations without the capital expenses associated with purchasing new assets.

Short-Term Access: Rental agreements can provide even more flexibility, allowing fleets to increase capacity for days, weeks or months. If longer-term needs arise, the switch to leasing becomes a welcome option.

Owned Capacity: The used truck market can offer a cost-effective alternative to new equipment for fleets that prefer to own their assets. Adding used trucks allows fleet operators to meet increased demand quickly. New equipment can come with extensive lead times, but used trucks are often readily available.

Logistics Solutions: Third-party logistics providers help businesses optimize their supply chain and ensure that they have access to the right amount of transportation and warehousing capacity when they need it. Some, like Penske, also have tools to improve efficiency, increase visibility and enable data-driven decision-making.

Brokerage Services: Freight brokers offer flexible solutions to manage capacity in real time. For shippers, brokers provide immediate access to an extensive network of vetted carriers to fill short-term or unexpected gaps in a shipper’s capacity. Brokerage can also be a valuable tool for fleets that need to access freight.




Private fleets are continuing to exert strength and control over their supply chains, positioning themselves as a value-added transportation solution. Private fleets have increased the number of shipments, freight volume and value of freight hauled for more than 11 years, according to the National Private Truck Council's 2025 Benchmarking Survey.

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The trucking and freight transportation industries have experienced several years of low rates, excess capacity and challenging headwinds. While the freight market is beginning to stabilize, uncertainty remains. Throughout 2026, shippers and carriers will need to rely on strategic planning, disciplined asset management and flexible operations to succeed in this evolving landscape.

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Private fleets have grown their market share and are using in-house transportation as a strategic resource to enhance service, control costs and improve safety. The National Private Truck Council's 2024 Benchmarking Survey found that shipments and volume increased last year as private fleets positioned themselves as a value-added transportation solution.

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Reading, Pa., March 12, 2024 Penske Truck Leasing has recently opened a brand-new, state-of-the-art facility in the southwest region of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Located at 1150 60th Street SW, Byron Center, Michigan – it is conveniently located near US-131.

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Reading, Pa., March 12, 2024 Penske Truck Leasing has recently opened a brand-new, state-of-the-art facility in the southwest region of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Located at 1150 60th Street SW, Byron Center, Michigan – it is conveniently located near US-131.

At this location, Penske offers consumer and commercial truck rental, full-service truck leasing and contract truck fleet maintenance. It is also outfitted with the company's proprietary fully digital and voice-directed preventive maintenance process and Penske digital experience solutions, which help customers leverage Penske technology as well as options related to onboard technology systems (ELDs, telematics, onboard cameras, etc.).

“This new, state-of-the-art facility will allow us to support a growing customer base and expand the district’s footprint,” said Mike Pritchard, senior vice president of the North Central region at Penske Truck Leasing. “Not only does it exceed expectation in size – it is also outfitted with innovative technology to keep pace with the growth and current demand of the transportation industry.”

The location is 22,898-square-feet and sits on 41.1 acres. It features five drive-thru bays with 10 service areas, an automated wash bay, and a full-service fuel island.

Penske currently employs over 40 associates at the new facility and is hiring locally and nationwide. For a list of open positions in the Grand Rapids area and at other Penske locations across North America visit gopenske.com/careers for more information.

Penske Truck Leasing is a Penske Transportation Solutions company headquartered in Reading, Pennsylvania. A leading provider of innovative transportation solutions, Penske operates and maintains more than 439,500 vehicles and serves its customers from more than 980 maintenance facilities and more than 2,650 rental locations across North America. Solutions from Penske include full-service truck leasing, fleet maintenance, truck rentals, used trucks, and a comprehensive array of technologies to keep the world moving forward. Visit PenskeTruckLeasing.com to learn more.

READING, Pa., October 30, 2023 – Penske Truck Leasing customer Balford Farms, a food distribution services and dairy products company headquartered in Burlington, New Jersey, is adding the first-ever electric truck to its fleet. The Orange EV yard tractor will support the company's warehouse and distribution center, which operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It will reduce Balford's carbon footprint by over 15 tons annually.

Balford’s environmental sustainability journey started over a decade ago with the installation of solar panels at their Burlington warehouse and distribution center.

“We’re thrilled about this opportunity to bring innovation into our truck fleet and expand upon our recent sustainability commitments and successes,” said Larry Walker, CEO of Balford Farms. “This new electric truck exemplifies our ongoing promise towards being an environmentally responsible leader in the food distribution industry while delivering efficiency and safety to our workplace, and the very best service to our customers.”

Balford specializes in providing warehousing and distribution services to quick service restaurant chains. Balford also markets and distributes their own Rosenberger’s dairy brand to customers throughout the Northeast U.S.

Penske Truck Leasing has earned placement on the VIQTORY 2024 Top Military-Friendly Employers list, in the over $5 billion category. VIQTORY is a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business that produces publications like Military Spouse and G.I. Jobs magazines.

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Penske Truck Leasing customer Balford Farms, a food distribution services and dairy products company headquartered in Burlington, New Jersey, is adding the first-ever electric truck to its fleet. The Orange EV yard tractor will support the company's warehouse and distribution center, which operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It will reduce Balford's carbon footprint by over 15 tons annually.

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Penske Truck Leasing has recently opened a brand-new, state-of-the-art facility in Channahon, Illinois. Located at 23400 S Frontage Road W it is conveniently located near Interstate 55 and Route 6 in the West Chicago-area.

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The U.S. Department of Defense has formally recognized Penske Truck Leasing for its military-friendly policies. The company is a recipient of the Above and Beyond Award recently given by the Pennsylvania Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR). The honor is provided to companies “for outstanding service and continuing support to the national defense.”

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Penske Truck Leasing today announced it has recently completed the acquisitions of Star Truck Rentals, Inc., a transportation services company offering full-service leasing, commercial truck rental, contract maintenance, used truck sales and additional services and Kris-Way Truck Leasing, Inc., a transportation services company offering full-service leasing, commercial truck rental, contract maintenance and dedicated contract carriage.

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Penske Truck Leasing has reached an agreement to acquire Star Truck Rentals, Inc., a transportation services company offering full-service leasing, commercial truck rental, contract maintenance, used truck sales and additional services. Financial terms were not disclosed.

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When drawing on telematics information for maintenance, the ultimate goal is to increase vehicle uptime by speeding up, or even preventing, repairs.

“If the vehicle is down for any type of maintenance, that means it is not delivering product,” said Gregg Mangione, executive vice president of maintenance, Penske Truck Leasing. “At their core, fleets want uptime.”

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Cost has been a default factor for many fleets looking to add telematics devices, but technology has become more affordable, especially for smaller operators.

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Penske Transportation Solutions has received a 2023 Military-Friendly Employer designation from VIQTORY, the publisher of the G.I. Jobs and Military Spouse publications. Organizations that received this distinction were culled from public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. In excess of 1,000 companies completed the survey.

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Penske Truck Leasing and Daimler Truck North America (DTNA) commemorated the delivery of two battery electric production model Freightliner eCascadia semi-trucks. The delivery of these heavy-duty electric vehicles is a significant milestone for both companies and marks the culmination of a period of co-creation, refinement and field-testing that kicked off nearly five years ago.

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