Build #3 · Frank · Week 3
PRIVATE FLEETS
ARE INFERIOR.
That's what I thought.
My mental model was incomplete.
My mental model was incomplete.
Private fleet
Your trucks. Your drivers. Full control, and full responsibility.
Dedicated fleet
Carrier's trucks and drivers — committed to you. More common.
Oneway service
Pay per load. Carrier hauls for many shippers. The default.
The tool Maria built · Private Fleet Sizing
SAVE SCREENSHOT AS
./frank_private_fleet_app.png
./frank_private_fleet_app.png
The real question
IT'S NOT ABOUT
UNUSED TRUCKS.
UNUSED TRUCKS.
It's much more important than that. It's actually about…
WELL, I'LL SHOW YOU IN CHICAGO.
The new perspective
A FLEET IS A HEDGE.
AGAINST THREE SHOCKS.
AGAINST THREE SHOCKS.
01 · SCENARIO
NOT BINARY.
Run a smaller private fleet. Supplement demand spikes with oneway — contracted or spot.
02 · RATE SHOCK
ONEWAY SPIKES.
When carrier rates jump, a private fleet flips from expensive insurance to the cheap option.
03 · CAPACITY SHOCK
"WE CAN'T HAUL IT."
Tight market, carriers decline your load. You pay a premium — or miss the shipment. Your fleet hauls it anyway.
The data · Not rare. Growing.
Roughly half of the $415B trucking market is private fleet — and growing. Dollar General just expanded to 700+ power units and 550 drivers, citing rising for-hire rates.