Imagine peak seasons when e-commerce platforms are flooded with orders and logistics companies scramble for available trucks. Which enterprises remain unshaken, ensuring seamless supply chain operations? The answer often points to companies with robust private fleets. As external capacity becomes increasingly constrained, private fleets are demonstrating their unique advantages, becoming an indispensable component of corporate logistics strategies.
Private Fleets Show Strong Growth Momentum
The private fleet market has reached $415 billion in recent years, accounting for nearly 50% of the U.S. trucking industry. Industry giants like Amazon, PepsiCo, Sysco, Walmart, and Halliburton operate some of the largest private fleets in the country. Despite numerous challenges, private fleets continue to maintain stable market share growth thanks to their resilient and flexible business models, along with the professionalism of their operations teams.
A benchmark survey by the National Private Truck Council (NPTC) of nearly 1,000 private fleets reveals widespread optimism among operators about future prospects. Key drivers for private fleet growth include customer service (46%), cost control (22.9%), and supply chain control (13%). In 2022, 76% of private fleets planned to expand within five years by adding equipment and handling more freight, up from 68% in 2021.
"The pandemic brought business surges to many companies, and having a private fleet proved to be a winning advantage," said Gary Petty, NPTC president and CEO. "Private fleets excelled at meeting extraordinary customer demands, enhancing their reputation among senior management as reliable, indispensable, cost-effective, and highly competitive assets."
Petty describes private fleets as "the rising stars" of the transportation industry. NPTC data shows private fleets achieved 10.3% growth in freight volume, 7.3% in shipments, 11.3% in freight value, and 8.2% in mileage during 2022.
The Balancing Act Between Private Fleets and Outsourced Capacity
A constant tension exists between private fleet operators and external carriers. Shippers, manufacturers, and private fleets continually weigh the benefits of internal transportation against outsourcing options.
NPTC internal data reveals that companies with private fleets handle 68% of their freight internally on average, while outsourcing 17% to common carriers and 12% to dedicated fleets. These proportions have remained consistent for six consecutive years.
"There's no current trend toward outsourcing private fleets to common or dedicated carriers—in fact, the opposite is true," Petty emphasized. Even before the pandemic, companies worried about losing control of transportation as external capacity became unpredictably expensive or unavailable during peak demand periods. This concern has driven some previously outsourcing-dependent corporations to establish private fleets from scratch.
Rising costs and capacity risks with external carriers are fueling private fleet growth. The average total cost of outsourced carrier services runs 30% to 50% higher than operating a private fleet. During the pandemic, external carrier costs sometimes reached two to four times normal levels—with no guarantee of service availability.
Petty added that about 67% of private fleets demonstrate their value by comparing their costs and service quality against the outsourced/dedicated providers they use to supplement their operations.
Focus on Driver Recruitment and Retention
Private fleet executives report increasing investments in driver recruitment, onboarding, and retention. The average cost to onboard a new heavy-duty truck driver is $8,450. Private fleets typically interview 10 drivers for every new hire, while the pool of qualified candidates continues shrinking.
The American Trucking Associations estimates the industry could face a shortage of 175,000 drivers by 2024.
Five Strategies to Enhance Private Fleet Efficiency
To address these challenges, private fleet advocates recommend five key operational improvements:
- Expand preventive maintenance programs: With new truck delivery times stretching to two years, private fleets are partnering with external maintenance providers to extend older trucks' lifespans and reduce breakdowns.
- Deploy comprehensive safety technology: Nearly 75% of private fleets now use speed monitoring, in-cab cameras, collision warning systems, lane departure alerts, automatic transmissions, and adaptive cruise control. About 65% utilize disc brakes, while 50% employ tire monitoring systems. Approximately 91% provide ongoing safety training, resulting in fewer lost work hours and record-low accident rates of 0.4 per million miles—three times better than the trucking industry average according to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration data.
- Invest in training and certification: Growing numbers of private fleet managers are pursuing industry education through programs like NPTC's Private Fleet Management Institute (PFMI) and Certified Transportation Professional (CTP) certification, both seeing record enrollment this year.
- Build professional networks: Connecting with other fleet professionals serves as valuable continuing education.
- Conduct benchmark comparisons: Leading managers regularly compare their fleet's performance against industry averages. NPTC's annual benchmark report is considered the "gold standard" for fleet evaluation and continuous improvement.
Driver Turnover Rises but Still Outperforms For-Hire Fleets
Driver-related issues remain private fleets' greatest challenge. The 2022 private fleet driver turnover rate reached 22.5%, a multiyear high. However, this compares favorably against the American Trucking Associations' reported 90% annual turnover for large long-haul carriers and 72% for small carriers.
Over the past 15 years, private fleets maintained an average driver turnover rate of 14.25%. Meanwhile, average driver tenure declined from 10.5 years in 2021 to 9.5 years in 2022, with signing bonuses and retirements contributing to increased turnover.
"Private fleets continue attracting the best drivers and offering trucking's best jobs," Petty noted. Average compensation stands at $79,907 plus benefits equivalent to 22% of total wages. About 79% of companies offer incentive pay (up from 65% in 2021), while 68% of drivers return home nightly. Many also operate newer equipment featuring premium upgrades and advanced safety technology.
Petty attributes high retention to "good working conditions, a culture that respects and rewards drivers, and employers recognizing private fleets as vital components of business plans."
Private Fleets: Strategic Assets in Uncertain Times
The exceptional performance of private fleets follows an unprecedented period in freight transportation. "This was a period when outsourced transportation faced capacity constraints across many areas," Petty observed.
As freight demand returned toward post-pandemic norms, external carrier capacity shortages emerged, making outsourced services more challenging and costly to secure. This shortage affected many private fleets' strategies of using external carriers for demand flexibility.
Simultaneously, supply chain disruptions for components limited original equipment manufacturers' ability to provide needed trucks.
"We continue suffering severe driver shortages that hinder all fleets' expansion capabilities," Petty said. "As if these challenges weren't enough, the industry also faces steadily climbing diesel fuel prices since June 2021."
In this environment, private fleets have proven themselves not merely as tactical tools, but as stable strategic assets—valuable links in corporate supply chain operations. They offer solutions to the uncertainties of outsourced capacity, enabling companies to control inbound and outbound logistics costs and services while providing insulation from external market fluctuations.
In an era of supply chain shortages that often prevent full truckload shipments, experts note private fleets provide greater flexibility to control supply chains and meet customer demands—particularly for both inbound and outbound logistics.
Private fleet advocates conclude that the unprecedented years since the pandemic have highlighted these operations' critical importance and the substantial value they deliver to corporate supply chains.