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Ryder System (R) Risk Analysis
Risk Overview Q2, 2026
Source: the company's latest filing for the period ended Jun 30, 2026, filed Jul 23, 2026
Risk Change Over Time
- Regulation - Risk 1We operate in a highly regulated industry, and changes in existing laws and regulations or costs of compliance with, or liability for violation of, existing or future laws or regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Our business is subject to laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which we operate and is regulated by various agencies, including the DOL, DOT, HHS, USDA and SEC. For example, the DOT exercises broad powers over our motor carrier operations and safety. We are also subject to safety, health and environmental laws and regulations imposed by various jurisdictions and agencies, such as the FDA, USDA, EPA and OSHA, including requirements related to emissions and vehicle specifications. We must also comply with domestic and international laws and regulations related to tax, anti-bribery, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering laws, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) restrictions. Our failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations, which may vary significantly by jurisdiction, may expose us to legal liability, fines or other penalties. Compliance with laws and regulations has involved, and we expect will continue to involve, significant time commitments and costs. For example, the DOT, through the FMCSA, periodically conducts compliance reviews and evaluates the safety rating assessed to motor carriers ("satisfactory," "conditional" or "unsatisfactory"). The receipt of a final "conditional" or "unsatisfactory" safety rating could have a material adverse effect on certain customer relationships. Moreover, if we fail to comply with DOT regulations, including failing to maintain a "satisfactory" safety rating, the DOT could levy fines and require us to cease all transportation services, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, compliance and enforcement initiatives implemented by the FMCSA related to drivers' hours of service, fitness and safety may shrink the industry's pool of professional drivers. In addition, new laws or regulations may be adopted or interpretative changes to existing laws and regulations could be issued at any time, which could further increase our costs or operating complexity and our ability to offer certain services in the jurisdictions in which we operate. Our failure to comply with any existing or future laws or regulations, whether actual or alleged, could have a material adverse effect on our business and on our ability to access the capital required to operate our business. Among other things, any such failure could expose us to reputational harm, loss of business, fines, penalties or potential litigation liabilities, and the loss of operating authority and restrictions on our operations. For example, compliance with new laws or regulations related to employee and independent contractor classification may cause us to incur additional exposure under federal and state tax and employment laws. Similarly, compliance with environmental laws or regulations may also impose new restrictions on our business or require us to take certain actions that may increase our costs and adversely affect our business, such as emission reduction and zero-emission vehicle requirements. These and other similar efforts may impose restrictions on our activities or require us to take certain actions, all of which may, over time, increase our costs and adversely affect our business and results of operations. Additionally, the demand for maintenance services in FMS and offerings in our SCS and DTS businesses may also be adversely affected. Further, compliance with environmental laws and regulations is complicated by various jurisdictions following different approaches to the regulation of climate change. As a result, we cannot predict the ultimate effect on our operating results or cost structure until the timing, scope and extent of any such regulations become known. In addition, any adverse publicity about emissions by the transportation industry, for example, could accelerate the adoption of new technology and potentially decrease customer demand for some of our services and used vehicles. Moreover, we may also fail to ensure that companies we acquire, that may not have historically maintained internal compliance controls, risk mitigation processes, or policies or procedures, comply with laws and regulations consistent with our standards. We are also subject to reputational risk and other detrimental business consequences associated with noncompliance by other parties with whom we engage with, such as employees, customers, agents, suppliers or other persons using our supply chain or assets, who may commit illegal acts, including the use of company assets for terrorist activities, fraud or a breach of data privacy laws.
Risk Highlights Q2, 2026
Risk Word Cloud
Risk Factors Full Breakdown - Total Risks 24
- Employment / Personnel - Risk 1If we are unable to mitigate labor shortage challenges, our financial results may continue to be negatively impacted.
In the past, we have experienced high labor costs due to labor shortage challenges across all of our business segments, particularly our DTS and SCS segments. These higher labor costs as well as higher subcontracted transportation costs have negatively impacted our earnings in both DTS and SCS. If labor shortages exist for an extended period of time, our earnings may be adversely impacted. Professional Drivers. We hire professional drivers primarily for our SCS and DTS business segments. There is significant competition for qualified professional drivers in the transportation industry. Additionally, interventions and enforcement under the CSA initiative may shrink the industry's pool of professional drivers as existing drivers with unfavorable scores may no longer be eligible to drive for us. As a result of driver shortages, we have, and in the future could continue to be required to, increase driver compensation, let trucks sit idle, use outside driver agencies and subcontracted transportation carriers, or face difficulty meeting customer demands, all of which could adversely affect our growth and profitability. Technicians. Similarly, we hire technicians in our FMS business segment to perform vehicle maintenance services on our ChoiceLease, SelectCare and rental fleets. In recent years, there has been a decrease in the overall supply of skilled maintenance technicians, particularly new technicians with qualifications from technical programs and schools, which could make it more difficult to attract and retain skilled technicians. If we are unable to maintain an adequate number of qualified technicians, whether through the retention of current technicians or the hiring of new qualified technicians, our business could be adversely affected. Warehouse Associates. We also hire warehouse associates in our SCS business segment to support the movement of goods in warehouses, particularly in our omnichannel and consumer packaged goods verticals. In recent years, there has been ongoing competition for warehouse associates in the logistics industry. At times, our business has experienced increased demand and competition for labor, which drives up costs. If we are unable to maintain an adequate number of qualified warehouse associates, whether through our own recruitment and retention or the use of alternative third-party staffing agencies, our operations may be adversely impacted. Management and Other Key Personnel. The foundation to our success is developing a skilled and diverse workforce that is motivated and committed to providing our customers with extraordinary service. If we fail to recruit, retain and motivate our employees, including those in senior management and other key roles, such as technology and supply chain management, or fail to preserve company culture, then we may not be able to execute on our strategy and grow our business as planned. In addition, we are committed to creating a positive and collaborative work environment throughout our organization. If we do not, or are perceived not to, have such a work environment, our reputation or ability to recruit and retain talent may be adversely impacted. Moreover, our current employees may terminate their employment with us at any time with minimal advance notice, and we are experiencing increased competition for talent that is making it more difficult for us to retain the employees we have and to recruit new employees. In addition, we are facing increased regulatory and compliance requirements that further decrease the pool of available candidates.
- Employment / Personnel - Risk 2A significant labor dispute involving us, our vendors or one or more of our customers, or that could otherwise affect our operations, may result in strikes, work stoppages or substantially higher labor costs.
We have approximately 3,600 employees in the U.S. that are organized by labor unions whose wages and benefits are governed by 94 labor agreements that are renegotiated periodically. Disputes with regard to the terms of these agreements or our potential inability to negotiate acceptable contracts with these unions in the future could result in, among other things, a material work stoppage, slowdown or strike by the affected employees. If our workers were to engage in a work stoppage, strike or other slowdown, other employees were to become unionized, or the terms and conditions in future labor agreements were renegotiated, we could experience business disruptions or higher operating costs, which could have an adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. Moreover, a current or future labor dispute involving our vendors or customers, or that could otherwise affect our operations, could affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
- Employment / Personnel - Risk 3Volatility in assumptions, discount rates and investment returns related to our pension plans may adversely affect the funding status of the pension plans, future funding requirements and our pension expense under our defined benefit pension plans.
We sponsor a number of defined benefit plans for employees not covered by union-administered plans, including certain employees in foreign countries. As of December 31, 2025, the aggregate present value of obligations of our global defined pension plans was $1.6 billion, and the fair value of the plan assets of our global defined benefit pension plans was $1.5 billion. The calculation of pension expense and pension plan funding requirements are influenced by multiple factors, including the funded status of our plans, which equals the difference between the plans' projected benefit obligations and the fair value of the plans' assets. Macroeconomic factors, as well as changes in investment returns and discount rates, can be volatile and may have an unfavorable impact on the funded status of our pension plans, our pension expense and future funding requirements. Although we are actively seeking to control increases in our pension expense and future funding requirements through annuitization transactions, liability-driven investment strategies and plan contributions, there can be no assurance that we will succeed, and continued cost and funding requirement pressure could reduce the profitability of our business and negatively impact our cash flows.
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