Ryder System rental revenue slides 5% in Q1

Fleet management and rental company Ryder System reported decreased year-over-year rental revenue and used-vehicle sales in the first quarter amid growth in its leasing segment.  

The company’s total revenue rose 1.1% year over year to $3.1 billion in Q1, partly driven by strong performances in its contractual businesses, Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Sanchez said during the company’s earnings call today. 

“In addition to increasing the return profile of our business, the earnings power of our contractual portfolio continues to provide us with increased capital deployment capacity, which we expect to use to support profitable growth and return capital to shareholders,” he said. 

BY THE NUMBERS: Coral Gables, Fla.-based Ryder System reported the following in its Q1 earnings statement:  

• Rental revenue fell 5.2% YoY to $219 million; 
• Leasing revenue rose 3% YoY to $867 million; 
• Rental utilization was 66%, unchanged from a year prior; 
• Used-vehicle sales totaled 5,100, down 21.5% YoY; and 
• Used-vehicle net sales saw a $9 million loss, compared with a $20 million loss in Q1 2024. 

Reflecting growth in its contractual portfolio, revenue from transportation solutions and supply chain solutions rose 6.9% YoY to $602 million and 2.2% YoY to $1.3 billion, respectively.  

BIG PICTURE: Rising new truck prices and the potential inflationary impact of tariffs are driving up lease demand as fleet operators seek more affordable options.  

Ryder System anticipates its leasing business to continue growing in 2025, with rental demand remaining subdued, President and Chief Operating Officer John Diaz said during the earnings call. 

“Our ending rental fleet is expected to decrease 9% during 2025 and our average rental fleet is expected to be down 4%,” he said. “The rental fleet remains well below peak levels as we manage through an extended market downturn.” 

MARKET REACTION: Shares of Ryder System [NYSE: R] were down 1.9% from market open to $135.31 as of market close today. It has a market capitalization of $5.7 billion. 

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