Trucking companies are essential to the economy in many ways, whether they are moving big or small loads. You will need a truck, whether you are sending a small package ordered online or loads of raw materials to a processing facility.
Ironically, many industries ignore or even denigrate the trucking industry, which is a sizable section of the economy.
Trucks are primarily used to supply necessities. Trucking companies transport food, medication, everyday products, and other goods for 80% of Americans. In the US trucking industry, there are almost 1.2 million businesses; here, we list some of the best ones. But first, let’s discuss what makes them the largest trucking companies.
What Do The Biggest Trucking Companies Share in Common?
The largest trucking companies in the US have a few things in common with one another. Some of these important characteristics are listed below.
1.They are aware of their market
The best trucking companies on the list below are successful because they don’t aim to appease everyone. For instance, FedEx and UPS often ship packages weighing 150 pounds or fewer. Even if they do provide some freight services, they are not as extensive as those provided by other rivals. For instance, Road Legends would be your best option if you need a freight or shipping specialist for large shipments.
2.They have a unique selling point
You don’t become the biggest truck company without knowing and honing what makes you different from other providers, whether it’s having a sizable team, being a leader in environmental sustainability, or using highly advanced, innovative technologies to improve efficiency.
3. They are fully aware of their target market
Because they are aware that their target market values extra care, several of the biggest transportation companies specialize in moving valuables as part of their household moving services, including laptops, televisions, and glassware. Others provide lower prices to companies that agree to use their shipping services on a long-term basis. Knowing what is most important to their ideal client enables them to focus on what works and cut costs in other, less profitable areas.
Nine Best Trucking Companies In The US
Depending on what is being shipped, trucking services and, consequently, trucking companies mostly fall into two types.
Full truckload shipping, often known as “truckload shipping,” is the process of transporting enough goods or resources to fill an entire truck. Less-than-truckload shipping is used when the cargo is not large enough to fill a complete truck.
The need for less-than-truckload shipping to transport these goods from one side of the country to the other grows along with the popularity of online shopping. Truck drivers fill the void with these more common online purchases.
Even though the pandemic-induced recession has negatively impacted all forms of business, the trucking sector is still a crucial component of the American economy and will continue to expand gradually.
However, certain businesses are the primary drivers of growth. Here is a summary of the top nine trucking companies in the US (in no particular order):
1.Road Legends
Road Legends is the first on the list of the top American less-than-truckload trucking companies. The transportation company Road Legends, originally MMJ Transportation, Inc., offers top-notch service while upholding a high level of integrity, profit, and reliability.
Their goal is to offer the finest transportation services, such as on-time and safe deliveries, at reasonable pricing. They also want to give their drivers a safe workplace and treat their clients and business partners respectfully.
Road Legends offers a wide range of services, including but not limited to van services, flat beds, and step decks. Additionally, the company is known for keeping its drivers and other customers happy! With the lowest turnover rate, Road Legends focuses on a safe and open working culture for everyone that joins the team.
Road Legends transports commodities such as dry bulk, building materials, logs, poles, beams, lumber, meat, paper products, utility, construction, U.S. Mail, beverages, general freight, and metal: sheets, coils, rolls, and more.
2.J.B. Hunt Transport Service
The second name on this list and one of the largest truckload freight companies is J.B. Hunt. The Lowell, Arkansas-based parent firm of this truckload trucking business was established in 1961. The typical J.B. Hunt employee stays with the business for roughly 2.2 years.
For both large and small organizations, J.B. Hunt Transport specializes in technology-driven freight shipment. They deliver capacity-oriented solutions focused on providing client value and sector-leading service through an integrated, multimodal approach.
3.Schneider
Schneider is another well-known trucking company with a lengthy history, hailing from Green Bay, Wisconsin, in the US. Al Schneider, the founder, decided to buy a truck, so he sold his family automobile, which is how the business was born. Schneider offers logistics, intermodal, and freight services. Regional, long-haul, expedited, dedicated, bulk, intermodal, brokerage, cross-dock logistics, pool point distribution, supply chain management, and port logistics are all included in the company’s list of services.
4.FedEx
FedEx Freight is a division of the FedEx Corporation, an American business with its headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee, that specializes in less-than-truckload transportation.
Federal Express was the organization’s original name from its creation in 1973 until the year 2000. The name “FedEx” is a combination of the two words. The organization offers air and ocean freight shipping in addition to trucking services.
5.XPO Logistics
XPO Logistics is also one of the largest less-than-truckload service providers and overall transportation companies. The corporate office of XPO Logistics is in Greenwich, Connecticut. On their website, they emphasize being customer-focused, secure, and inclusive.
XPO Logistics was established in 1989 and currently employs about 100,000 people. XPO Logistics pays its employees an average income of $38,369 annually, which is less than some of its biggest rivals.
Another regrettable detail is the high staff turnover rate, with workers staying at this organization for just 1.7 years on average before leaving.
6.Swift Logistics
Swift Transportation is also now one of the biggest truckload shipping companies. Due to a merger with Knight Transportation, Swift Transportation, which has its corporate headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, is now also known as Knight-Swift. Jerry Moyes established Swift Transportation in 1966 and since then it has been growing exponentially.
The company offers dry van, port services, reefer, flatbed, intermodal, expedited, power only, and hazmat.
7.Werner Enterprises
Werner Enterprises dates back to 1956, when the company was first established. Werner Enterprises is a less-than-truckload shipping business with offices across the US, Canada, and Mexico.
The range of transportation services offered by Werner comprises dedicated, medium-to-long-haul, regional, and accelerated vans, as well as temperature-controlled vehicles. Truck brokerage, freight management, intermodal, international, and final mile services are all part of Werner Logistics’ service offering. Through Werner’s domestic and international subsidiary businesses, international services are offered, including freight forwarding, customs brokerage, and land, air, and ocean transportation.
8.Old Dominion Freight Line
Old Dominion Freight Line, a less-than-truckload shipping company, comes in ninth on our list. The company has made a name for itself and generated a sizable average annual revenue since its inception in 1934.
Earl Congdon established Old Dominion Freight Line, and the Congdon family continues to own the business today. Based in Thomasville, North Carolina, the business runs 245 service centers with about 41,000 tractors and freight trailers.
9.UPS
The less-than-truckload shipping business UPS Freight is a division of UPS, or the United Parcel Service. The main office of UPS is located in Atlanta, Georgia, where it employs about 335,520 people in various roles. UPS is the oldest company on our list and was established in 1907.
UPS is a leader in package delivery and a supplier of international supply chain management solutions. They run one of the biggest airplanes and fleets of alternative fuel vehicles.
What does it take to run a big trucking company?
It takes a lot of work to rank among the largest trucking companies in the US. More than eight hundred trucking companies declared bankruptcy in 2019, demonstrating how difficult it may be to have sustained success in the transportation sector.
In addition to the traits of top-performing truck firms we outlined above, there are several other areas that transportation carriers must concentrate on if they want to stand out from the competition. They consist of:
- Sustainable business expansion
- Observing the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s criteria
- Ensuring that all vehicles and assets are insured
- Keeping a regular maintenance schedule in place for all vehicles
- Hiring, educating, and retaining skilled, customer-focused drivers
- They successfully market their services to attract new customers
- Analyze and monitor all costs consistently to maximize profits (employee salaries, tax deductions, fuel expenses, repair costs, finance payments, etc.).
For a business to be successful, every component of it needs to run smoothly.
Signing off
Almost every sector of the economy depends on truck transportation. Without owner operator carrying and transporting products, heavy industries like mining, building, and infrastructure work would not exist.
Without truck transportation, massive construction projects and infrastructure would fail, and every sector of the economy that supports our ability to go about our daily lives would suffer.
More than 3.5 million Americans make a job as truck drivers, according to the most current census data. When mechanics, executives and managers from trucking companies, and dispatchers are included, the number of people employed in the trucking industry rises to 7 million.
We hope the list above provides you with a suitable option to choose your favorite trucking company as a driver, owner-operator, or partner to transport your goods.
