Editor’s Note:

The inaugural Top 100 Trucking Companies list involved a great deal of research into the entire trucking sector. To bring some order to the process, a hierarchy of considerations were developed to analyze and create the listing. With well over 500 companies to sift through some basic criteria had to be established.

From a geographic perspective, the initial effort is largely confined to Canada and the U.S. Generally, Mexico and the cross-border freight has been handled in the AJOT separate from the U.S. and Canadian business and the list reflects the editorial choices.

Although the list is somewhat influenced by revenue and/or units (trucks and chassis), these two items represent only a measure of the list’s criteria. Many trucking companies on the list are publicly traded and as such are easier to research than privately held carriers. Many are listed on the Dow or on NASDAQ. A few others are listed on the Canadian exchanges. Like other industries, private equity money is increasingly evident in the trucking sector. It’s likely some of the private equity backed trucking companies eventually will become publicly listed while others are spun off – sometimes to a management led group, another private finance house or another trucking company.

Another important criterion was the nature of the business itself. There are a great many specialized trucking companies with a large “for hire” profile that could be included. A number of them focus on heavy and out of gage loads while others, refrigerated, household effects or liquid bulk freight. For the most part the list tried to concentrate on the dry less-truck-load and dry truck load freight business. There is also a fair representation of intermodal and drayage companies within the list as the movement of ocean containers is an important element to the overall North American freight market.

Another consideration was the nature of the ownership. What is the main business? In this regard, in house trucking companies were largely left off the list. In recent years, there has been a consolidation within the trucking industry and frequently household names in the trucking industry have continued to operate although they are now owned under an umbrella organization. Generally, the umbrella company was placed on the list while the subsidiaries were left off.

There was a time when trucking was just that - trucking. That is no longer the case as the service suite is increasingly non-asset technology based and less about the trucks themselves.

A number of 3PLs (third-party-logistics) are included on the list. The term is a little nebulous as most 3PLs are considered to be asset light – like a C.H. Robinson – rather than asset heavy like most trucking firms. But the concept of providing a wide range of logistics services has transformed what a trucking company might be called. There is little doubt that Schneider, for example, is now better described as a 3PL than simply a trucking company – and they are not alone.

And of course, two of the largest trucking companies, Federal Express and UPS, are often called integrators because of their wide range of “integrated” logistics services but they also could be described as a 3PL, 4PL or dare I say a 5PL by some definitions.

* One important note, Celadon, listed at 33, declared bankruptcy after the chart was completed – indicative of just how difficult the year has been for the trucking industry.

Rank Carrier City State / Province Public/Private Service
1 UPS Inc. Atlanta GA NYSE-UPS Integrator
2 FedEx Corp. Memphis TN NYSE-FDX Integrator
3 XPO Logistics Greenwich CT NYSE-XPO 3PL
4 J.B. Hunt Transport Lowell AR NASDAQ-JBHT Intermodal
5 Knight-Swift Transport Phoenix AZ NYSE-KNX TL/LTL
6 YRC Worldwide Overland Park KS NASDAQ-YRCW TL/LTL
7 Schneider Greenbay WI NYSE-SNDR TL/LTL
8 Landstar System Jacksonville FL NASDAQ-LSTR TL/LTL
9 Old Dominion Freight Line Thomasville NC NASDAQ-ODFL TL/LTL
10 TFI International Montreal QC, CA TSX-TFI TL/LTL
11 Ryder Supply Chain Solutions Miami FL NYSE-R 3PL
12 Hub Group Oakbrook IL NASDAQ-HUBG Intermodal
13 Estes Express Lines Richmond VA Private TL/LTL
14 ABF Freight Systems [ArcBest] Fort Smith AR NASDAQ-ARCB 3PL
15 Werner Enterprises Omaha NE NASDAQ-WERN 3PL
16 Penske Logistics Reading PA NYSE-PAG 3PL
17 Roadrunner Transportation Systems Downers Grove IL NYSE-RRTS TL/LTL
18 Prime Inc. Springfield MO Private TL
19 NFI Camden NJ Private TL
20 U.S. Xpress Enterprises Chattanooga TN NYSE-USX TL/Expedited
21 R+L Carriers Wilmington OH Private LTL/Expedited
22 CRST International Cedar Rapids IA Private TL/Expedited
23 Saia Johns Creek GA NASDAQ-SAIA TL/LTL/Expedited
24 C.R. England Inc. Salt Lake City UT Private TL/Intermodal
25 Universal Logistics Holdings Warren MI NASDAQ-ULH 3PL
26 Forward Air Corp. Greenville TN NASDAQ-FWRD TL/LTL/Expedited
27 Southeastern Freight Lines Lexington SC Private TL/LTL
28 Averitt Express Cookeville TN Private TL/LTL
29 Evans Delivery Co. Schuylkill Haven PA N/A TL/LTL
30 Crete Carrier Corp. Lincoln NB Private TL
31 Purolator Mississauga ON N/A Integrator
32 Lynden Inc. Anchorage AK Private TL/LTL
33 Celadon Group Inc.* Indianapolis IN OTC-CGIP TL/LTL/DRAY
34 KLLM Transport Services Jackson MS Private TL/LTL
35 Ruan Des Moines IA Private TL
36 Roehl Transport Marshfield WI Private TL
37 Alliance Shippers Englewood Cliffs NJ Private 3PL
38 Covenant Transport Services Chattanooga TN NASDAQ-CVTI TL/Expedited
39 Pitt Ohio Transportation Group Pittsburgh PA Private TL/LTL/Expedited
40 Central Transport International Warren MI N/A LTL
41 Day & Ross Transportation Group Hartland NB, CA N/A TL/LTL
42 Cardinal Logistics Concord NC Private TL/LTL
43 Marten Transport Ltd. Mondovi WI NASDAQ-MRTN TL/Intermodal/DRAY
44 AAA Cooper Transportation Dothan AL Private TL/LTL
45 Stevens Transport Dallas TX Private TL
46 Western Express Nashville TN Private FTL/Intermodal/DRAY
47 Mullen Group Okotoks AB, CA TSX-MTL TL/LTL
48 Dayton Freight Lines Dayton OH Private TL/LTL
49 Heartland Express Inc. North Liberty IA NASDAQ-HTLD TL
50 Performance Team Los Angeles CA N/A 3PL
51 OnTrac Inc. Chandler AZ Private Parcel Delivery
52 Bison Transport Winnipeg MB, CA Private TL/LTL
53 Cowan Systems Baltimore MD Private TL
54 USA Truck Van Buren AR NASDAQ-USAK TL/Intermodal/DRAY
55 PAM Transport Tontitown AR NASDAQ-PTSI TL/Intermodal/DRAY
56 Canada Cartage [Nautic Partners] Mississauga ON, CA N/A TL/Intermodal/DRAY
57 Dart Transit Company Egan MN Private TL
58 Black Horse Carriers Carol Stream IL Private TL
59 National Retail Systems North Bergen NJ Private TL/DRAY
60 A. Duie Pyle Inc. West Chester PA Private TL/LTL
61 Transport Investments Inc. Pittsburgh PA Private TL/LTL
62 Mesilla Valley Transportation Las Cruces NM Private TL
63 IMC Companies Memphis TN Private Dray/Intermodal
64 TransAm Trucking Inc Olathe KS Private 3PL
65 ContainerPort Group Cleveland OH Private Dray/Intermodal/TL
66 RoadOne IntermodaLogistrics Randolph MA Private Dray/TL/LTL
67 Dependable Supply Chain Services Los Angeles CA Private 3PL
68 Challenger Group Cambridge ON, CA Private TL/LTL
69 Martin Transportation Systems Byron Center MI Private TL
70 New Penn Motor Express [YRC] Lebanon PA N/A LTL
71 Daylight Transport Long Beach CA Private LTL/Expedited
72 Central Freight Lines Waco TX Private LTL
73 Oak Harbor Freight Lines Auburn WA Private LTL
74 Wilson Logistics Springfield MO Private TL
75 Bill Davis Trucking Batesville AK Private TL
76 Duncan and Sons Lines Phoenix AZ Private TL
77 Raven Transport Jacksonville FL Private TL/Intermodal
78 RJR Transportation El Paso IL Private TL
79 OutWest Express El Paso TX Private Expedited Freight
80 High Country Transportation Lancaster TX Private Dry Bulk
81 S&S Transport Inc. Grand Forks ND Private TL
82 Hirschbach Motor Lines Dubuque IA Private TL/LTL
83 Horizon Freight Lines Cleveland OH Private Intermodal
84 Epes Transport System Greensboro NC Private TL
85 Nussbaum Transportation Services Hudson IL Employee Owned TL
86 Halvor Lines Superior WI Private TL/LTL
87 McFarland Truck Lines Inc Austin MN Private TL/LTL
88 Givens Transportation Inc. Chesapeake VA Private TL/Expedited
89 Saddle Creek Logistic Services Lakeland FL Private 3PL
90 Standard Forwarding East Moline IL Private LTL
91 Itz-Ohlson Topsfield MA Private Dray/Intermodal
92 Colonial Cartage Corp. Kennesaw GA Private TL/LTL
93 Colonial Freight Systems Knoxville TN Private TL/LTL
94 Columbian Logistics Network Grand Rapids MI Private 3PL
95 Continental Expedited Services Clarksville TN Private Expedited Freight
96 Lily Transportation Corp. Needham MA Private TL/LTL
97 McLeod Express Decatur IL Private LTL
98 M&W Transportation Nashville TN Private 3PL
99 John Christner Trucking Sapulpa OK Private TL
100 Ward Transport & Logistics Corp. Altoona PA Private LTL