What type of expense should be recorded by a construction company for leased dump trucks?

The most appropriate type of expense for a construction company to record for leased dump trucks is lease expense. When a company leases equipment rather than purchasing it outright, the payments made under the lease agreement are recorded as lease expenses. This reflects the cost of using the equipment during the lease term.

In this case, depreciation expense is not applicable because depreciation pertains to owned assets, where the company has capitalized the cost of the asset on its balance sheet and allocates that cost over the asset's useful life. Since the dump trucks are leased, the construction company does not own them and thus cannot depreciate them.

Maintenance expense might be incurred depending on the terms of the lease, but generally, the cost associated with leasing the equipment is recorded separately as lease expense, rather than maintenance. Amortization expense applies to intangible assets and is not relevant when it comes to leasing tangible assets such as dump trucks. Therefore, lease expense correctly captures the rental payments made for the use of the dump trucks without implying ownership.