// Why Now

The equipment market is in motion. Intelligence is the moat.

Coming out of an overbuilt 2022 and 2023. Used pricing moving on different timelines per class. Lease returns working through the system. Emissions rules forcing turnover. Consolidation accelerating. The downstream secondary market is bigger and more active than it has been in years, and the carriers winning this cycle will be the ones with the best intel.

Consolidation Accelerating

Yellow. Convoy. U.S. Xpress. Dozens of mid-size carriers absorbed or shut down every quarter. Each consolidation creates surplus equipment that flows through lanes the market doesn't index. We watch the SEC filings and FMCSA authority transfers that telegraph the next wave.

Used Pricing Is Moving

2022 and 2023 overbuilds are still working through the system. Used prices move on different timelines per equipment class. Sandhills, Ritchie Bros, and J.D. Power references shift week to week. The fleets buying or selling without that intel are leaving money on the table.

Emissions Forcing Turnover

EPA emissions rules and CARB enforcement are forcing earlier turnover than fleet planners modeled five years ago. The fleets that prepared for this cycle have an advantage. The ones that didn't are scrambling.

The Intel Layer Wins

Class 8 truck orders, auction calendars, FMCSA authority losses, SEC filings, used pricing references, major shipper contract news. We watch all of it daily. The fleets watching with us see the next move before the listings show up.

Where We Sit

Every motion moves equipment.

Big fleets refresh their iron on a schedule. Carriers consolidate. Authority shifts. Dedicated contracts end. Owner-operators graduate. Every motion in the market moves trucks across lanes that don't talk to each other. We watch all of it.

Fleet Refreshes

Big fleets cycle iron on a schedule. The trucks they cycle out have to go somewhere. We connect them to operators ready to take them.

Carrier Consolidation

When carriers merge or acquire, the combined fleet always gets rationalized. Some equipment becomes redundant. That's an opportunity we read in SEC filings and FMCSA authority transfers.

Authority Shifts

FMCSA authority losses and revocations telegraph carrier distress. Equipment hits the market in chunks. We watch the data and move before the trustees print flyers.

Contract Shifts

When a major shipper rebids or ends a dedicated contract, the incumbent carrier suddenly has surplus equipment. Trade press and earnings calls flag it before the listings show up.

Fleet Rebuilds

Class 8 truck orders are public data. When a major fleet places a 500-unit order, we know they'll be cycling 500 units out 6-9 months later. We position early.

Owner-Operator Growth

Single-truck operators grow into mini-fleets. Mini-fleets become small fleets. Each step needs equipment. We track the growth and source for it.

What We Do

Sourcing. Liquidation. Structure.

Buy side

Sourcing equipment for fleets ready to grow. We work with our partner dealer network to find trucks and trailers that match your spec sheet, your timeline, and your budget. New units, used iron, single deals, fleet lots.

Sell side

Liquidation support for fleets refreshing their lineup or shedding equipment. We connect operators offloading trucks to buyers in our network through relationships built one deal at a time. We don't run an auction lot. We move iron through the right channels for the right deal.

Structure

Transaction structuring tailored to the deal. Buy-side and sell-side. Single units to fleet lots. Operating leases to capital leases. We know the difference and we know who does what. Sale-leaseback structuring through our partner network when capital is the constraint.

How We Work

Partner dealer network. Data layer underneath.

Licensed dealer partners

Old Drum is not a licensed dealer. We source through partnered licensed dealers across the Midwest and beyond. Every transaction runs through the appropriate licensed party, with the right paperwork and the right title work.

Intel-driven sourcing

The same intel stack that runs our recruiting practice tells us which fleets are buying, which are shedding, and where the next opportunity sits. Class 8 truck orders, auction calendars, FMCSA authority losses, SEC filings on the public carriers, used pricing trends, major shipper contract news.

Process

Discovery call first to understand what you're trying to do. Scope agreement second. Sourcing or liquidation third. Paperwork through the licensed dealer. We stay in the conversation through close.

What We Move

Tractors. Trailers. Fleet lots.

From single-unit owner-operator deals to multi-million-dollar fleet acquisitions. Power and trailer, new and used, across the equipment categories most carriers actually need.

Sleepers Day Cabs Reefer Trailers Dry Vans Flatbeds Tankers Drop Decks Step Decks Fleet Lots Single Units

// Intel Built In

Every equipment engagement is backed by our daily intel stack: Class 8 truck orders, FMCSA authority shifts, SEC filings on the public carriers, auction calendars from Ritchie Bros, IronPlanet, and Taylor & Martin, used pricing references from Sandhills and J.D. Power, plus major shipper contract news that telegraphs surplus equipment 60-90 days before it lists.

Trucks move where the data says.