Loaded with extras

Trailer-leasing companies today are doing much more than just renting out boxes. They now offer 24-hour emergency service, computerized maintenance, and other options.

By Staff -- Logistics Management, 5/1/1998

A box is not just a box. That's what trailer- and container-leasing companies are telling customers today. More and more, lessors are touting the value-added services they offer.

No wonder. The Truck Renting and Leasing Association, based in Alexandria, Va., says that some 275,000 trailers were leased in the United States in 1994 (the last year for which figures are available). To gain a slice of that market, lessors have to give

the customer special value with their lease. Here are a few of the additional services companies offer today.

NationaLease has developed a national account program that provides nationwide coverage through nearly 600 member locations. That initiative combines customer service, maintenance, and financing into one program.

Made up of 126 affiliates throughout North America, NationaLease says it is the largest member-owned system of inter-dependent, full-service truck-leasing companies in North America. NationaLease affiliates offer full-service leasing of tractor-trailer combinations for local, regional, and national distribution.