Established and developed a nationwide system of truck leasing

Developed a new approach to financing and one-way truck rental nationwide

Founded Jartran, Inc., a truck and trailer rental company to serve the retail consumer

James A. Ryder helped a nation on the move by introducing truck leasing. Today, people who are moving their household goods take truck rental for granted. But it was unheard of in 1934 when James Ryder founded Ryder Systems with a $35 down payment on a Model A Ford truck. By the 1950s, Ryder Systems had truck operations in a dozen Florida cities. Over the next decade, Ryder continued to acquire smaller companies, building Ryder Systems into the nation?s largest truck leasing company. Ryder resigned as Chairman in 1978 and founded Jartran, Inc., a consumer truck rental company. Industry observers were stunned with the establishment of Jartran as a $100 million operation almost over night. Ryder’s entrepreneurial spirit prompted one transportation analyst to note: He’s the kind of person I’d never bet against.