Ryder System on Dec. 19, 2003 said it would buy the assets of two closely-held leasing companies, boosting its fleet by nearly 11,000 vehicles. The company reached an agreement to acquire substantially all the assets of General Car & Truck Leasing System, a major privately held commercial truck leasing, maintenance and rental company based in Davenport, Iowa, which has a fleet of 4,000 vehicles and over 700 customers. The combined network will operate under the Ryder name. In a related announcement, Ryder entered into a non-binding letter of intent to purchase substantially all the assets of Ruan Leasing Company, a major privately owned truck leasing, rental and contract maintenance company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. Ruan has capabilities through the Midwest, Southeast, and Mid- Atlantic regions, as well as in California. Ruan Leasing Company, which has a fleet of 6,800 vehicles and an additional 4,800 units under contract maintenance agreements, serving 550 customers in the U.S. The supply chain, logistics and dedicated contract carriage businesses of Ruan are not included in the transaction.