This is interesting as they actually came to a reasonable conclusion. I’ve watched videos from truckers, and these seemed like a scam. Proof is that the companies that do this really pressure new drivers to get in their lease programs, where you take on the expenses of running the equipment while they still control you and taking pretty large lease payments. Simple logic, if you were making more profit from the operation compared to them, would they push new drivers into leases so heavily? It reminded me of the rent to own scam businesses from decades ago that take advantage of people with terrible credit, where you end up paying over twice the value of products before you own it (better option is Landstar where you can lease onto them but you buy the equipment using financing, though would be interesting to see rates and if they help you qualify along with fees). But this will make for an interesting drama, as these megacorp trucking companies are going to use their lobbyists and government stooges to fight a ban, especially when it’s going to significantly impact their profits and stock price, not to mention their OCGFC institutional stock holders. Let’s check major trucking company Swift for institutional investors below, and they do have a lease to own program, though they do say you have control of what loads and areas you work.
https://cdllife.com/2025/fmcsa-task-force-says-truck-lease-purchase-programs-should-be-banned/
By Ashley
A committee assembled by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recently submitted a final report suggesting truck lease-purchase programs “cause widespread harm” and should not be permitted.
The eight-member Truck Leasing Task Force (TLTF) Advisory Board was formed in 2023 under FMCSA oversight. The TLTF was asked to study the impact of common truck leasing arrangements on owner-operators and trucking businesses.
On January 16, 2025, the TLTF submitted a final report to federal authorities suggesting that lease-purchase programs are harmful to truck drivers and should be banned by Congress.
Task Force: Lease-Purchase Programs Enrich Carriers At Expense Of Drivers
The TLTF stated that most truckers sign on to a 3 to 5 year lease agreement, but that “few drivers survive financially until the end of a lease-purchase contract term.” In fact, the TLTF pointed to data suggesting that “less than 1 in 100 drivers who participate in a lease-purchase end up owning the truck.”
The committee also looked to negative feedback from the trucking community and industry stakeholders, as well as TLTF-reviewed data, which showed that “lease-purchase programs cause widespread harm without offering meaningful scale opportunities for truck and small business ownership.”
According to the TLTF, lease-purchase programs exploit truck drivers to benefit motor carriers without many options for recourse for the drivers who are financially harmed:
“TLTF’s findings are clear. It formed a consensus to recommend that such arrangements, whereby a motor carrier controls the work, compensation, and debts of the driver, should be prohibited. Lease-purchase programs are regularly established to enrich motor carriers at the expense of drivers. These programs promote a race-to-the-bottom in driver compensation and treatment, pushing qualified drivers out of the profession. Currently there are no effective checks on these programs or remedies for drivers harmed by them.“
TLTF: Congress Should Ban CMV Lease-Purchase Agreements
The TLTF ultimately called on authorities to act to ban lease-purchase programs in order to protect truckers:
“Congress should ban CMV lease-purchase agreements as irredeemable tools of fraud and driver oppression that threaten a safe national transportation system and diminish the number of truck drivers attracted to and who stay in the trucking industry. Such a prohibition would be the most efficient and effective remedy to stop the damage created by lease-purchase programs.“
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) issued a statement supporting the findings of the TLTF, after the group’s President Todd Spencer spoke at multiple meetings.
“Many people are drawn to trucking under the belief that hard work guarantees success,” Spencer said. “But predatory lease-purchase agreements prey on that trust, leaving drivers financially and emotionally broken.”