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5 Reasons to Sell Underutilized Trailers

Posted by Mckinney Trailer Sales Team on Feb 21, 2023 11:59:17 AM

Aerial Fontana Oct 19-2Look around your facility. Chances are there’s a semi-trailer sitting unused. It might be in good condition, parked purely for lack of demand, or maybe it’s banged up and essentially out of service. If you’re managing a fleet for a large company, you may have several or perhaps many trailers that fit this description.

Aside from not helping your business, underutilized trailers can harm it by silently holding you back from achieving growth and financial goals. Consider selling your trailers to an equipment provider like Mckinney. Here are the benefits you’ll unlock:

1. Free up Cash Flow

John Fallon, assistant vice president of asset management for the transportation solutions provider Hub Group, said the biggest advantage of selling underutilized trailers is getting them off the accounting books. “If we’re sitting on equipment that’s not being utilized, we’re still depreciating those assets and/or paying for storage space,” he explained. “That keeps us from being able to invest in other parts of the business.”

Fallon began selling trailers to Mckinney after his sales rep mentioned in passing that Mckinney also makes equipment purchases. Fallon started by selling two older trailers and has been selling mostly specialty equipment, “anything with lift gates, flatbeds or special sizes,” ever since.

2. Fast Payment & Pickup

The funds from sold equipment are instant profit and liquidity. However, smaller dealers may sometimes delay transactions and payments. Fallon said he appreciates how fast and efficiently Mckinney moves to get deals done, not just on paper and in the bank, but also at the yard. As told by Fallon, it works like this:

“Mckinney is often the highest bidder. They’re extremely fair. Once we agree on a deal, they’ll work with our legal department to exchange an invoice, bill of sale and titles for each unit. Mckinney always pays very quickly. Upon payment, we assign the bill of sale, and they send their driver(s) to come take the units. It’s that easy.”

Winston Madrigal, director of trailer sales for Mckinney, said Mckinney’s goal is to get the seller paid within five business days. Logistics can sometimes extend the pickup date, but assuming there are no major challenges, pickup usually happens within a week. Fallon said it’s not uncommon for other dealers to take weeks to pay and weeks more to pick up, but with Mckinney, the sales process is smooth and painless.

3. Offload Maintenance

Maintenance teams work tirelessly behind the scenes to keep trailers running safely, properly and efficiently. Selling trailers that aren’t in use allows staff to focus their time and attention on those trailers that are in service. When you make their job easier, they can do their job better. You may also see maintenance cost savings with a smaller fleet to service, freeing up even more cash flow to reinvest in other areas like people and technology.

4. High Demand

Business owners and fleet managers know all too well that transportation and logistics today are operating in a more heightened state and at a faster pace than ever before.

“Ever since the pandemic, the market has been really wild,” Madrigal said. “New trailer costs have gone up 35% and yet the demand remains elevated due to trailer shortages and supply chain issues.”

In other words, it’s a seller’s market. There’s no better time than now to fetch higher prices for your unused equipment. With 35-plus years in business and 15 locations from Texas to California and everywhere in between, Mckinney has more buying power than the competition. We’ve made purchases of 300 to 400 trailers at a time, shelling out major paydays to those sellers.

5. Rent or Lease What You Need

If you’re unsure about selling trailers you’re not currently using, it’s probably because you’re worried that you’ll need them and no longer have them. With an established trailer rental company like Mckinney, you can rent, lease, buy and sell trailers all through one source. So, you can essentially get your trailers back if, when and as necessary, without letting them slow down your cash flow in the meantime. Selling adds another dimension to the relationship and makes for a stronger partnership.

“Mckinney has been a great partner for us in every way,” Fallon said. “We rent from and sell to them with complete confidence.”

Ready to make a sale? We can have a representative there possibly as soon as tomorrow to inspect the unit(s) and place a bid. Don’t worry about how well the equipment is maintained; we have our own repair shops too. Learn more about leveraging a strong market to sell your semi-trailers quickly and easily with Mckinney, then contact us to get started.

Topics: Fleet Management Knowledge & Trends

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