Executive Summary
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- Fleet Importance
Mauser’s 7,600+ trailers are essential to moving products and supporting the full packaging lifecycle. Trailer efficiency directly impacts operational performance, costs, and customer service. - Business Challenge
Inefficient trailer use (idle, misplaced, or excess rentals) increases operational complexity and cost. Limited visibility—especially with older, non-GPS-equipped trailers—makes tracking and recovery difficult. - Past Strategy and Current State
Earlier efforts to reduce rental trailers delivered ~$120K in monthly savings and improved control. In 2025, temporary disruptions required increased rental usage to maintain service continuity. - Operational Improvements Since 2025
A renewed focus on operational improvements centers on improved visibility and coordination of trailer locations, reduced use of trailers for storage, and optimized customer agreements to reduce idle and rental demand. - Key Takeaway
Reducing rental trailers is a major cost-saving opportunity. Success requires cross-functional collaboration and continuous improvement in fleet management practices.
Our trailers are more than just equipment; they are a critical link in how we deliver for our customers every day. The Mauser fleet of more than 7,600 trailers moves new and reconditioned products across our network and returns used packaging so it can be given a second life. In many ways, the fleet connects every step of the packaging lifecycle.
Because of this, how we manage our trailers has a direct impact on our efficiency, our costs, and ultimately our ability to serve customers. Every trailer that sits idle, is used inefficiently, or is rented unnecessarily adds complexity and cost to the business. Simply put, when our fleet isn’t working as effectively as it could, neither are we.
Several years ago, the North America Industrial Packaging (NAIP) business implemented a strategy to identify and return rented trailers in favor of using only Mauser-owned equipment. That strategy resulted in approximately $120K in monthly savings across the business unit and created greater visibility and control. However, in 2025, we faced brief disruptions that required quick action. “At the time, rented trailers allowed us to shift operations and continue serving our customers, which was our top priority,” said Victor Rente, Vice President of Customer Service and Transportation. “Today, our focus is once again on reducing reliance on rentals, removing these trailers from our network, and regaining control of our costs.”
Phasing out rented trailers is challenging because we don’t always have clear visibility into where trailers are or how they’re being used. While newer trailers are equipped with GPS tracking (e.g., SkyBitz), many older units are not, making them harder to locate and verify. Even when we have a general sense of location, trailers aren’t always where expected, and confirmation often depends on driver input. Even when locations are known, removing a rented trailer isn’t always straightforward. It typically requires locating and reallocating a Mauser-owned trailer to take its place, and customer lease agreements can limit flexibility.
NAIP has implemented several strategies to support the elimination of over 400 rental trailers and optimize the utilization of Mauser-owned trailers. Thus far, these efforts have resulted in the return of almost 30% of rented trailers with cost savings of approximately $65K in monthly savings. The return of rented trailers requires several steps – locate it, empty it, and replace it with a Mauser trailer.
Since 2025,
- We’ve moved from hard-to-track, uncoordinated trailers to clear visibility, daily alignment, and faster recovery;
- We’re using fewer trailers for storage and keeping more equipment on the road where it belongs;
- We are optimizing customer agreements to reduce idle trailers and lower overall rental demand.
Fleet management is a collaborative endeavor that requires the support of everyone across the organization. Rented trailers, while necessary at times, are a significant cost to Mauser. Every day that we retain a rented trailer is an additional cost to the business. The sooner we can identify and execute solutions to remove these assets, the greater our savings.
“Past practices don’t always define what’s best for today. We’re focused today on using our trailers more effectively and we welcome ideas to make that happen,” said Rente.
