Trucks: To buy or not to buy

'f O BUY or not to buy. That is the I question. Alas. in the case of whether or not to own your own fleet of trucks, there are three answers possible. Own it, lease it or hire an independent carrier.

Leasing requires a much smaller investment than purchasing, and leasing companies continue to make their offers more attractive. The lumber dealer receives a like-new vehicle, but before it starts wearing down, he will be rid of the truck and the payments. He also has direct supervision over his own crew of drivers.

Barr Lumber Co.. Los Alamitos, Ca., has always owned its own fleet, but last year took a serious look at leasing. In the end, the firm decided to buy three more new vehicles to add to its fleet of almost 20.

"Leasing is growing less expensive," admits Barr Lumber Co.'s yard manager Garrit Vos, "but we still find it's cheaper all the way around to buy and run them ourselves. Also, there are too many problems with other companies having the trucks we need. To haul lumber, you need special roller beds. A lot of times you take (the vehicle) off road, so it will require a special transmission and rear end and heavy duty springs. Then when the companies get the trucks back they don't know what to do with them."

He continues: "lnsurance for your own fleet is going up, just like everything else. But it's still something you pay for when you lease a truck."

And Barr Lumber Co. knows first hand that its fleet is kept finely

Should the lumber dealer buy, lease or rent his trucks?. supervisors who have seen all sides explain their companies' choices.

tuned. "We have our own mechanics on the premises, so if there's a problem, we get right on it and it's fixed immediately," says Vos.

Home Depot, Fullerton, Ca., uses a private carrier for deliveries out of both its individual stores and distribution centers. A banner with the Home Depot logo is simply draped over the truck company's name.

"l've run too many of my own fleets over the years," says Home Depot's director of distribution and transportation, Mike Spada. "l wouldn't sleep at night until I knew all my drivers had arrived safely. We haven't had anybody get hurt and have had minimal accidents, but you just worry about these guys traveling across country."

The independent carrier relieves the lumber company of a huge burden of responsibility with safety, personnel and maintenance. Home Depot has found price to be negotiable.

"lfyou own your own trucks, you want a fleet that's lean and mean. If you need six trucks, you buy five. But a truck company will need six and he buys eight. He has to have them around. It's his business," says Spada.

Service has been superb, he says. "People who deal with us are very sensitive to our needs, perhaps because we're such a major account. I guess he who has the gold makes the rules. If you have 100 stores and another guy has two stores, the carrier is going to react to the guy with 100 stores a lot quicker. It'sjust good business sense."

Therefore, Spada admits a smaller company might not be able to rely on the independent trucker as heavily as Home Depot has. And the tricky truck question can remain a threeedged sword.