Long Distance 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 57,300 long distance general freight trucking companies in the US provide truckload (TL) and less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation services between cities and across the country. TL trucks carry a load for a single customer, transporting the load directly to its destination. LTL trucks carry goods for more than one customer and make multiple stops to drop-off and pick-up freight. These trucking firms transport a wide variety of goods and may also provide services such as warehousing, packaging, and customs brokering for international transport. Long distance trips typically exceed 250 miles.
Volatility of Fuel Costs
Fuel consumption is a major expense for trucking companies, with nine miles to the gallon of diesel considered a good MPG range.
Rising Need for Drivers
Because of truck drivers’ difficult lifestyle and time spent away from home, many companies have trouble finding and retaining qualified long-haul drivers.
Industry size & Structure
A typical long distance general freight trucking company operates out of a single location, employs fewer than 20 workers, and generates about $4-5 million annually.
- The long distance general freight trucking industry consists of about 57,300 companies, which employ about 804,000 workers and generate about $252 billion annually.
- The truckload (TL) segment of the industry accounts for 88% of firms and 71% of industry revenue. The less than truckload (LTL) segment accounts for 12% of firms and 29% of industry revenue.
- The TL segment is fragmented with the 20 largest firms representing 30% of the segment’s revenue. The LTL segment is concentrated with the 20 largest firms representing 77% of the segment’s revenue.
- Large companies include Schneider, Old Dominion, YRC Freight, Swift Transportation, JB Hunt, and Werner Enterprises.
Industry Forecast
Long Distance General Freight Trucking Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Apr 10, 2025 - US Trucking Industry Lacks Enough Parking Spaces
- A lack of parking for US truckers has long been a problem for the industry with only one parking space available for every 11 drivers, per a report from The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI). Without adequate rest area parking, long-haul truckers are more prone to accidents due to fatigue. Per ATRI’s data, the average rest area in the US has 19 truck parking spaces. Southern states beat the national average with 25 parking spaces per rest area, while Northeastern states lag behind with an average of 15 spaces. The report also noted features drivers prefer in rest areas, including 24-hour security, walking trails, dump stations, pet areas, proper lighting, camera surveillance, and emergency call buttons, among others. Some state governments have aggressively tackled the issue, creating interactive parking information dashboards, converting state-owned land to parking facilities, and setting up emergency parking programs for times of bad weather.
- Trucking executives are increasingly optimistic that the industry will find its way out of a prolonged, post-pandemic downturn in 2025. Shipping rates and volume have consistently been down amidst increased costs as consumer behavior after Covid has shifted away from buying consumer goods and towards services such as travel and events, according to the American Trucking Association’s chief economist Bob Costello. He predicts consumer spending on goods will bounce back and increase about 3.3% in 2025, while services will fall to 2.2%, helping trucking companies slowly regain their footing. Other positive signs for trucking cited by Costello include rising inflation on services that could tip consumer habits back towards goods purchases, and a healthier housing market, which can be a boon to trucking companies with increased orders on home improvement supplies and building materials.
- Trucking cargo thefts rose across North America in 2024 - jumping 27% over the previous year to an all-time high - per trucking analytics firm Verisk CargoNet. The company’s annual analysis found 3,625 theft incidents during the year with an average estimated value of about $202,000 per incident, up from $180,000 a year ago. Texas and California reported the biggest increases in the number of thefts, up 39% and 33%, respectively. Verisk CargoNet also reported the types of cargo most targeted - consumer electronics and computer hardware, produce, raw and finished copper products, cosmetics, and vitamin supplements, among others. Break-ins and full-trailer theft was still the main tactic, although criminals are becoming more sophisticated, including hacking trucking firms’ back-end systems and forging documents and cargo manifests. Break-ins and trailer theft were most prevalent in the major markets of Atlanta, Dallas, LA, and New York City.
- Trucking industry employment remained flat throughout 2024, while average wages for nonsupervisory employees in the long distance general freight trucking specialty segment increased more than 4% year-over-year in November 2024, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). A significant driver shortage brought on by attrition through retirements and younger-employee burnout in a stressful and isolating job has been hampering the industry. Truck drivers are in high demand and paid well as a result. An analysis of industry job postings by freight factoring company altLINE estimates that there is an ongoing deficit of 24,000 drivers. When combined with the average $3,900 per week a truck makes in revenue (using trucking giant Schneider National’s reported earnings), the staff shortage costs the freight industry $95 million a week.
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