Local General Freight Trucking
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 40,000 local general freight trucking companies in the US provide truckload (TL) and less than truckload (LTL) transportation services within cities and over short distances with drivers returning home each night. Trucking firms transport a wide variety of goods, but the majority is boxed or palletized. Local routes are typically less than 150 miles.
Failure to Meet Safety Requirements
Failure to meet safety regulations can result in investigations, fines, loss of license, and idled vehicles.
Emergence of Online Freight Coordinators
The local freight trucking industry is benefiting from online sites, like Uber Freight and TruckLoads, that match shippers and distribution centers with local freight carriers.
Industry size & Structure
A typical local general freight trucking company operates out of a single location, employs 7-8 workers, and generates about $1.4 million annually.
- The local general freight trucking industry consists of about 40,000 companies, which employ about 299,000 workers and generate about $59 billion annually.
- The industry is fragmented with the 50 largest firms representing just 10% of revenue.
- Firms range from the small operations that serves a single local area using few owned trucks, to large firms that operate a network of locations across the nation using leased vehicles and servicing many local markets.
- About two dozen large firms have networks of 10 or more establishments, which are regionally or nationally dispersed to serve specific cities.
- Large companies include Jack Hood Transportation, Holland, Reddaway, New Penn, Cowan and EPES.
Industry Forecast
Local General Freight Trucking Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Dec 17, 2024 - “Nuclear Verdicts” Increase
- Trucking companies were hit with $165 million in nuclear verdicts — jury awards exceeding $10 million — in 2023, according to Marathon Strategies. Vehicle manufacturers and trucking companies combined for more than $1.3 billion in nuclear verdicts in 2023. Much of this total was driven by a $976.5 million verdict against Mitsubishi Motors ordered by a Philadelphia jury. Juries ordered companies in 47 industries to pay a nuclear verdict last year. There were 89 cases with verdicts of more than $10 million in the US, the highest in 15 years and a 27% increase since 2022. Of those, 27 cases topped $100 million, eight topped over $500 million, and two were in excess of $1 billion. These are referred to as “thermonuclear verdicts.”
- Carriers are relying on cost-cutting measures, operational efficiency, and strategic revenue opportunities to stay ahead in a difficult freight market, according to Transport Topics. Some industry leaders are cautiously optimistic conditions will improve in 2025. Supply chain solutions firm NFI CFO Steven Grabell said that he expects the current low-price environment to lead to a reduction in trucking capacity, as some smaller or marginal players may not be able to sustain operations. The reduction will help balance supply and demand. Grabell noted uncertainty related to the election of Donald Trump as US President, however. “While it remains difficult to anticipate the magnitude of the impact of tariffs and other economic policies on our industry, we feel confident that we’re nearing the bottom of the freight downturn,” Grabell said.
- Truckload drivers earned a median annual amount of $76,420 in 2023, a 10% increase over the previous two years, according to the American Trucking Associations latest Driver Compensation Study. Linehaul less-than-truckload (LTL) drivers earned a median annual amount of $94,525 in 2023, while local LTL drivers earned a median of $80,680. Median annual compensation for drivers at private carriers has risen 12% since 2021, reaching $95,114 in 2023.
- Local general freight trucking industry employment and average wages for nonsupervisory employees increased slightly during the first 10 months of 2024, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Heavy duty truck sales have rebounded from a 2020 pandemic-driven trough to pre-pandemic levels, according to the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Local general freight trucking industry sales are forecast to grow at a 3.56% compounded annual rate from 2024 to 2028, slower than the growth of the overall economy, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc.
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