XTRA CORPORATION

Based in St. Louis and owned by Berkshire Hathaway, XTRA Lease is the leading provider of over-the-road trailers for rent and lease in the U.S.

With more than 50 locations, XTRA Lease offers a fleet of about 75,000 trailers for rent and lease, including dry vans, flatbeds, reefers, local cartage vans, storage trailers and specialty equipment.

Company facts

• Fleet Size: About 75,000 trailers
• Number of XTRA Lease employees: About 400
• Headquarters: St. Louis
• Number of St. Louis employees: About 100
• Number of XTRA Lease branches: More than 50

History

1957

• XTRA Corporation becomes the nation’s first piggyback leasing company, based in Westport, CT.

1961

• XTRA Corp becomes a public company listed on the New York Stock exchange. XTRA became one of 20 companies listed in the Dow Jones Transportation Index.

1992

• XTRA Corp creates the XTRA Lease division when two regional companies, AJF Leasing and Strick Lease, merge into one national company.

1997

• XTRA Lease introduces industry-changing Repair Cost Standards. The company tackles the often contentious issue of damage rebills, using technology to standardize the approach to estimating, communicating and invoicing rental customers for damages incurred by their drivers. To date, no competitor has replicated the investment or the approach.

2000

• XTRA Lease becomes the first trailer lessor to offer GPS and cellular-based trailer tracking. It remains the only trailer supplier to offer trailer tracking as a free added-value service with dry van rentals. 

2001

• On September 20, 2001, Berkshire Hathaway acquires all assets of XTRA Corporation. Berkshire Hathaway is a holding company headed by investor Warren E. Buffett.

2004

• Warren Buffett appoints Bill Franz as CEO. All corporate headquarters functions move to St. Louis.

2005

• XTRA Lease acquires the former CitiCapital Trailer Rental Company, a low-priced competitor with approximately 30 locations and 23K trailers.
• XTRA Lease introduces XTRA Xpress®, a mobile technology solution that provides fleets instant electronic notification of rental activity and real-time access to rental information.

Using handheld devices, XTRA Lease completes all trailer pick-ups and returns electronically, which produces instant email notifications to customers. Customers also receive a digital copy of the rental agreement linked to each email so they can process transactions more efficiently, reduce paperwork and make faster decisions.

2007

• XTRA Lease expands its service offering to include a customized version of Qualcomm’s T2 Untethered TrailerTRACS™ asset management system for its trailers.

The two companies collaborate to create a new Web-based user interface that improves customers’ ability to manage their fleets through trailer tracking. XTRA Lease has trailer-tracking units installed on approximately 50,000 dry vans.

2011

• XTRA Lease becomes the first trailer rental and leasing company to install fuel-efficient aerodynamic side skirts on new reefers and dry vans. Combined with low rolling resistance tires, the side skirts offer fleets a 6.5% savings in fuel efficiency.

Today

XTRA Lease manages a fleet of about 75,000 dry vans, flatbeds, refrigerated vans, local cartage vans, storage trailers and specialty equipment. Our customer list includes many Fortune 1000 companies, such as UPS, FedEx, Home Depot, Pepsico/Frito Lay, JB Hunt, Target, Penske, Kraft, Kroger and Walmart.