Ryder vs. Ryder

The rumble in rent-a-truck

The founder and chairman of Jartran Inc., the U.S.'s newest truck rental company, constantly complains about "those damn Ryder people." That is hardly surprising because Ryder System Inc. is the nation's largest truck-leasing firm. But the grumbling executive is none other than James A. Ryder, 67, who founded Ryder in 1934 with a $35 down payment on a $200 secondhand Model A Ford truck.

Ryder controlled the firm that bears his name until 1974, when a series of business setbacks led to a boardroom coup. In that recession year, Ryder System lost a record $20 million, and some analysts blamed James Ryder's overeager expansion of the firm. At the company's Miami headquarters there was also grousing about Ryder's turbulent working and personal habits. Finally, in 1975, the board of directors brought in Leslie O. Barnes, then president of Allegheny Airlines, to be Ryder System's chief executive. James Ryder was given the title of chairman, a big office and no responsibilities.

Most sexagenarians would have quietly accepted the sinecure, which carried a lifetime annual pension of $100,000. But idleness was inconceivable to the scrappy Ryder, who still does 50 push-ups before breakfast, despises losing a badminton match and has a third wife 27 years his junior. Says he: "I'm sort of a rough person. I like rough things. Concrete, steel, debris, cast-iron pipes. I always liked working, and I just couldn't get used to working for somebody else, I guess."

In 1978 Ryder decided to start up another firm to rival his own. Using $5 million of his own money and a fleet of trucks assembled on credit from Ford, Chrysler and Fruehauf, he launched Jartran (an acronym for James A. Ryder Transportation) in Coral Gables, Fla., under the noses of his former colleagues.

Jartran is now the fastest-growing rent-a-truck outfit in the history of the business. It has aggressively bought full-page ads in scores of newspapers and magazines, posted Jartran flyers in thousands of apartment buildings and mailed discount cards to graduating college seniors who would soon be moving their books, hi-fi sets and clothes. After some 17 months of operation, Jartran has more than 30,000 trucks and trailers and 2,200 independent dealers in the 48 mainland states. The waiting list for dealerships numbers 1,800. Though start-up costs have precluded any profits so far, Jartran expects revenues this year to reach close to $100 million. That is still only a fraction of Ryder System's $1.8 billion.

Now the saga of Ryder vs. Ryder is heading into the courtroom. Ryder System last spring sued Jartran for stealing its trademark, logo and business methods. Both Ryder and Jartran trucks have two parallel, horizontal stripes across their sides and display the slogan RENT ONE WAY & LOCAL in similar designs. Jartran ads feature large pictures of James Ryder and tout him as "the man who invented truck rental." Moreover, Ryder contends that Jartran is raiding its personnel and that some 150 former Ryder employees work for the new company. Admits James Ryder: "Most of them have come on their own, but we went after some."

Jartran has got into similar legal battles with another major competitor, UHaul, which has charged it with running ads that make inaccurate and misleading price comparisons between the two companies. Jartran has fought back, alleging that U-Haul set "predatory" prices that were aimed at driving Jartran off the road. Protests Ryder: "We're offering good, clean competition. Ryder and U-Haul are trying to snuff us out before we get big." In the meantime, James Ryder is determined to keep on truckin'. qed

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