Summer is a “hot” season in more ways than one; high demand for certain vehicle specs presents an opportunity for fleet owners. Use this Summer Guide to analyze the seasonal trends based on historical rental demand and get insight into our predictions for this season. With these learnings, your business can decide which vehicles to keep a close eye on to make the maximum impact on your bottom line.
In this guide, we explore the year-to-year trends of our major markets nationwide. Plus, we’ll walk you through how your business can improve its vehicle utilization with the COOP platform this summer.
Summer Commercial Vehicle Rental Demand in 2021
We project how the summer of 2021 will go based on rental metrics over the past 4 years. To meet the anticipated demand of seasonal commercial vehicle spec popularity, our COOP team recommends its Owners to consider the following:
Trailers to see steady long-term rentals. Both refrigerated and dry trailers see high demand this season for over-the-road rentals. In fact, in 2021 trailers are in very high demand and our business Owners that purchased trailers to list them full-time had up to 98% utilization on the COOP platform in May.
Final-Mile vehicle rental demand will increase. We predict an increased need to rent vehicles for final-mile deliveries, which include Box Trucks as well as Sprinter Vans. Also, these vehicles will see an increase in rentals as Live Event and Restaurant, and Hospitality industries ramp up their activity and will be in need of extra capacity.
Expect Summer Business’ Rental Demand
We expect this summer season to have a strong tractor and trailer rental demand in June and July. Across our 9 active markets, companies have historically demanded medium- or heavy-duty rental vehicles for long hauls.
Industries that Need Rental Vehicles in the Summer
Over the summer, the Food & Beverage as well as Construction industries drive the bulk of rental demand. And many other businesses require additional fleet capacity this season. Even to the very end of the summer in August and September, we see vehicles picked up early for reservations that last through the holidays.
This season’s rental demand should keep the wheels moving on any Owner’s vehicle that can handle large cargo capacity. Flatbeds, 53’ trailers, and sleeper tractors are all predicted to see rentals from businesses that will require additional freight capacity for the long-term such as moving services, retail industry freight, and construction freight.
Increase in Refrigerated Vehicle Rentals
June through August is a great time for refrigerated vehicles. Compared to the rest of the year, refrigerated vehicles like refrigerated box trucks and reefer trailers typically see peak demand this season. During this time of year, we typically see an impressive 54% increase in demand for reefer vehicles. This demand is driven by events, entertainment, restaurants, and general hospitality companies that are sponsoring outdoor events and accommodating vacationers. Summer’s recreation creates rental demand for increased cold storage freight for food, beauty products, tobacco products, and even ice cream vending.
Long-Term Trailer Rentals
We anticipate that trailer vehicles will start to be rented long-term in June. Right now, the trailer market is seeing extremely high demand with companies urgently looking for availability — so COOP Owners can get them out earning money right away. The data shows that dry vehicles like trailers will continue to see the largest volume of rental days, which makes them a great asset to invest in the platform at any time. In the case of Champion Trailer Solutions, the trailers they purchased to add to their fleet were rented out within 24 hours on COOP. And on average, trailers are rented for 23 days each rental during the summer on COOP. So for our Owners, this means reservations made in June right at the beginning of the summer season can last throughout the entire summer.
Final-Mile Rental Demand in the Summer
E-commerce continues to drive a need for final-mile deliveries. Dry trucks and day cabs are easily filled with delivery packages through the business and personal services industry. Approximately 75% of summer rental demand comes from day cab, dry truck, reefer truck, and van final-mile vehicles. It is a trend that saw a large bump during 2020. The microchip shortage that has stalled production for new vehicles has driven more renters to use the platform to fit their capacity needs. Owners should never let final-mile commercial vehicles sit idle when they could easily be rented out with COOP.
COOP Owner Tips to Generate Maximum Summer Revenue
Summer is a very competitive rental market that Owners can take advantage of by adapting their listings. Some ways Owners can do that are:
Keep vehicles available. Stay up-to-date as your business needs change. Popular summer picks like final-mile, reefers, and trailer vehicles are more likely to be rented if they are listed available at the beginning of the workweek.
Set a competitive daily rate. Make sure your rental rates are comparable to the rest of the market. Also, consider offering long-term rental discounts to make your listing more attractive to Renters and generate consistent revenue.
Promote your businesses. Use COOP’s tools to advertise your vehicles to companies in your network. They could be the ones who need to rent the vehicles that you have sitting.
With our platform, our technology, and our team’s expertise, your business has the tools to rent out your vehicles and generate revenue.