Lease-Purchase Agreements Fail 90%+ of the Time, Trapping 200K Drivers

Large carriers offer 'lease-purchase' programs that promise drivers a path to truck ownership and independence, but FMCSA's own Truck Leasing Task Force found these programs fail over 90% of the time, financially devastating the drivers who enter them. At least 200,000 interstate drivers — roughly 5% of the CDL workforce — have been affected. The trap works like this: the carrier leases a truck to the driver but retains total control over compensation rates, load assignments, fuel purchasing, insurance, and maintenance costs. Drivers report routinely owing money to the carrier at the end of pay periods — working full weeks and going into debt. The contracts are deliberately confusing, switching between lease and loan language so drivers do not realize they are building zero equity. When the driver inevitably defaults, the carrier repossesses the truck and leases it to the next victim. The structural root cause is that these programs function as a driver retention mechanism, not a financing product — carriers use the debt obligation to prevent drivers from leaving for competitors. The FMCSA Task Force called these programs 'irredeemable tools of fraud' in January 2025.