To an outsider, the Top 50 trucking companies don’t seem to change much over time. However, to those inside running the best companies in this $900 billion industry, change is occurring at breakneck speed.
Here in the early part of 2024, the biggest change coming is the push for “decarbonization” of an industry that was built on the diesel engine invented by Germany’s Rudolph Diesel in the late 1890s. But that workhorse of an engine—diesels in heavy trucks often run up to 3 million miles with regular maintenance and a rebuild or two—is facing its final end of the line.
Whether it’s a fully electric, a variety of diesel run on alternative fuels, hydrogen-powered or even battery-powered, the truck of 2035 is likely to be run on a completely different power grid than today’s traditional diesel fuel.
“I’m excited about the momentum and investment occurring in our industry relative to alternative fuel types,” says Derek Leathers, chairman, president and CEO of Werner Enterprises, the 6th-largest truckload carrier. And that comment is typical of the thinking of today’s modern trucking executives.
(Annual revenue, including fuel surcharges)
Rank | Carrier name | 2022 Revenue ( $ millions) | 2023 Revenue ($ millions) | YoY % Change (2022-2023) |
1 | FedEx Freight | $10,186 | $9,106 | -10.60% |
2 | Old Dominion Freight Line | $6,177 | $5,805 | -6.00% |
3 | XPO Logistics | $4,645 | $4,671 | 0.60% |
4 | Estes Express Lines | $4,405 | $4,218 | -4.20% |
5 | R+L Carriers* | $2,864 | $3,070 | 7.20% |
6 | Saia Motor Freight Line | $2,792 | $2,881 | 3.20% |
7 | ABF Freight System | $2,951 | $2,810 | -4.80% |
8 | TransForce (US only) | $2,957 | $2,375 | -19.70% |
9 | Southeastern Freight Lines | $1,741 | $1,685 | -3.20% |
10 | Central Transport Int’l* | $1,236 | $1,261 | 2.00% |
11 | Averitt Express | $1,288 | $1,165 | -9.50% |
12 | Dayton Freight Lines | $1,056 | $1,035 | -2.00% |
13 | Pitt Ohio Transportation Group | $912 | $909 | -0.30% |
14 | Forward Air | $969 | $846 | -12.70% |
15 | AAA Cooper Transportation* | $727 | $764 | 5.10% |
16 | A. Duie Pyle | $568 | $570 | 0.40% |
17 | Roadrunner Transportation | $400 | $410 | 2.50% |
18 | Daylight Transport | $389 | $374 | -3.90% |
19 | Oak Harbor Freight Lines* | $338 | $320 | -5.30% |
20 | Ward Trucking Corporation | $256 | $253 | -1.20% |
21 | Cross Country Freight Solutions | $187 | $207 | 10.60% |
22 | Midwest Motor Express* | $153 | $160 | 4.60% |
23 | Magnum LTL | $152 | $155 | 2.00% |
24 | Sutton Transport | $112 | $123 | 9.80% |
25 | Dependable Highway Express | $131 | $112 | -14.50% |
Top 25 excluding Yellow | $47,592 | $45,285 | -4.80% | |
Yellow Corp. (closed in Aug)*** | $5,245 | $2,423 | -53.80% | |
TOTAL TOP 25 US LTL CARRIERS | $52,837 | $47,708 | -9.70% | |
ALL OTHER US LTL CARRIERS* | $4,841 | $4,641 | -4.10% | |
TOTAL US LTL MARKET^ | $57,678 | $52,349 | -9.20% |
*SJC estimates
**With lower FSC in 2023, LTL market size ex-FSC in 2023 declined by 4.5% instead of 9.2%
***While Yellow’s demise in August 2023, the average daily shipments handled by other carriers thereafter
are not fully reflected in their average daily shipment count
^ 2022 market size revised to exclude TFI Canada | Prepared by SJ Consulting Group, Inc.
Visit Logistics Mangement for the Top 25 rankings of Truckload Carriers and more analysis.