Trucking is a steady, needed business, but startup costs like commercial truck loans -- whether you're an owner-operator or head of huge fleet -- can be murder. For any big, commercial truck operator, financing is a matter of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Luckily, the industry is big enough to attract capital for trucking business loans. Manufacturers, banks, leasing entities -- they all want to go into business with you by fronting a commercial truck loan.
In this guide, you'll find tips on commercial truck loans, like:
1. Leasing as a form of semi truck financing
2. Commercial truck loans for startups
3. Alternatives to trucking business loans, like factoring
4. A used truck as a means of commercial truck financing
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Traditional commercial truck financing means taking a lease
Leasing is the same as buying a new personal car on your credit and a down payment, except that semi truck financing via leasing is usually tax-deductible. Leasing is likely the easiest "get-in" form of commercial truck loan.
I recommend: Talk with your accountant first, then with commercial truck financing companies like
Penske and
Ryder and truck manufacturers, including
Mack and
PacLease (Peterbilt and Kenworth) about specialty truck financing. See too
semi truck loans at Business.com for more money sources for your commercial truck loans.
Semi truck financing specialists can work out terms for startups
Heavy equipment like trucks have long life-spans and keep their resale value for many years. Lots of smaller banks and lenders focus on trucking business loans since they know that repossessing the truck is recovery of most of the value of the semi truck loan.
I recommend: See commercial truck financing and semi truck loans from groups like
TA Capital,
CAG Truck Capital, and
CT Financing. There's more on semi truck loans at
commercial truck financing at Business.com.
Alternatives to commercial truck loans
Often, buying the truck is a piece of cake, but making the equal payments over time on specialty truck financing is hard, especially for seasonal trucking operations.
I recommend: Unless you can be your own bank or secure working capital for a semi truck loan, consider factoring -- essentially, selling your accounts receivable for cash now. Finance companies doing this kind of commercial truck financing include
1st Commercial Credit,
GE Capital, and
FactorLoads. See more trucking business loan options on the Business.com directory page on
semi truck financing via factoring.
Money tight? Try a used truck instead of a semi truck loan
The relative endurance of a commercial trucks means they're good for decades longer than the original owner probably wants to keep them. Just buying cheap rather than taking out an onerous commercial truck loan can save big money when it comes to semi truck financing.
I recommend: It's hard to spot a lemon, but if you know trucks, used can be a bargain when it comes to commercial truck financing. See used commercial trucks for sale at
Truck Paper and
Buy a Truck.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
- Like any lease, beware maximum mileage and other unrealistic terms in commercial truck loans. Your semi truck financing deal can go sour on the fine print.
- Factoring is not complex. But be careful not to discount so much that you fall into the red on this type of specialty truck financing.
- Everyone wants to lend, but not many loans -- including semi truck loans -- are worth making. Be sure your company is financially ready to deal with the burden of semi truck financing payments.
The official source of Commercial Truck Financing is
the Commercial Truck Financing page at Business.com
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