“Somebody had to do it,” says Marco Ardila, the Florida-based 31-year-old CEO of Firstway Logistics Trucking, when he heard of a new sharing platform for commercial vehicles, COOP by Ryder.
“The first thing that crossed my mind is this could be Airbnb for the trucking business,” he says.
In his personal life, Ardila has used the websites of Airbnb to find lodging and Uber to find transportation on demand. He’s watched as these online marketplaces have taken the hotel and taxi industries by storm. “I’m always looking for the next thing,” he continues. “To me it made a lot of sense. This is where things are going.”
The practice of motor carriers renting and leasing equipment from other motor carriers is nothing new, really. Many carriers have inter-change agreements allowing their shipper customers and third-party carriers to use trailers. Some freight brokers also rent trailers to carriers or offer use of trailers in relocation agreements.
Online equipment rental marketplaces are rare, however. One might not expect to see a new sharing platform come from a company already in the equipment rental and leasing business, as this would only increase the competition. Yet that’s exactly what Ryder — a commercial fleet management, dedicated transportation, and supply chain solutions provider — did by launching COOP in March 2018.
Ryder began in the Atlanta market. To date more than 300 companies have utilized COOP, including the Atlanta Opera, Sutherland’s Foodservice and Crossover Entertainment Group, Ryder says.
On Thursday, Jan. 24, Ryder announced the expansion of the digital platform in South Florida and plans for availability in all of Florida by the end of the year.
