Several years ago I looked into getting units for my 'fleet'. At that time the purchase price was upwards of a couple thousand dollars for brand new systems. The usage fee was just under $15 per week not $35 per week. I don't know but I suspect if you have 1000 units there might be some extra discounts.
Now, the carrier is fronting the purchase and repairs so that has to factor in. The carrier is also getting many many years of payments from the trucks using the units. The carrier is also getting some sort of write off, if they have decent accountants.
So, $35 a week is definitely a rip off. Landstar charged $25 a week. Still too high but less usurious. If a carrier wanted to treat their "partners" fairly they'd set up a sliding scale starting at $20 a week for a year followed by $15 a week in year two, $10 a week in year three, $5 a week in year four, and no charge from year five onward as long as that truck stayed in the fleet. They'd recover over half the cost of each unit in the first year a truck was signed on. By the end of the second year the unit would be paid for. In years 3 and 4 they'd put $780 away toward any potential repairs or other expenses. They wouldn't get rich from qc's like they are now but combined with their write offs they make a little money.
And just how far would it go toward morale and positive impressions of the carrier compared to all the $35 rip offs?
