Long Distance Specialized Freight Trucking
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Industry Summary
The 10,300 long distance specialized freight trucking companies in the US offer highway hauling services for goods that are more logistically challenging to transport than standard freight. Specialized freight truckers carry cargo such as hazardous chemicals, refrigerated perishables, livestock and farm products, automobiles, bulk liquids, and refuse. Long distance truckers carry freight across state lines throughout the US and into Canada and Mexico.
High Maintenance Costs
Specialized freight trucking firms face significantly higher maintenance and repair costs than standard carriers.
Regulatory Complexity
The trucking industry is highly regulated in the areas of safety and emissions, but fast-moving technology integration is adding to the myriad of challenging legal requirements.
Recent Developments
May 27, 2025 - Specialized Trucking Demand Falls in April
- Shipping volatility due to trade war back and forth, as well as consumer spending cutbacks, disproportionately increased the number of trucking businesses leaving the market in early 2025, according to a supply chain report from ITS Logistics. About 7,400 trucking companies left the market in April, the highest rate in the last 12 months and a 26% increase over March. Reefer and flatbed truck haulers in particular will face challenging months ahead, per ITS, with spot rates increasing only marginally so far in spring 2025. Consumers are pulling back on discretionary spending on traveling and dining, squelching demand for reefer truck goods. In addition, anemic housing construction starts, which fell 11.4% year over year in April per the US Census Bureau, is also hurting the specialty trucking industry with less demand for flat bed trucks hauling construction materials.
- The trucking industry’s transformation from diesel-powered fleets to environmentally cleaner electric versions came to an abrupt halt when the second Trump administration ended the federal government’s EV mandates in January 2025. The changes were widely expected, so much so that California - the country’s most aggressive testing ground for EV mandates - preemptively killed its new rules that would have drastically reduced emissions and boosted funding for building related charging station infrastructure. With a new government in power that is hostile towards the industry’s EV transformation, the uncertainty surrounding mandates and the expectation that the EPA will no longer support the moves throws trucking’s electric vehicle transformation effort into doubt.
- Recent trends in retail and pharmaceuticals offer unique growth opportunities for specialized trucking companies, especially those in the cold chain. Reefer trucks can benefit from the 32% rise in US frozen food sales since 2019, as well as new drugs that lose effectiveness without cold storage (Covid vaccines, Ozempic weight loss meds).
- Almost half of the entire US trucking industry are workers aged 45-64 and retirements have become a key factor in the current driver, mechanic, and technician shortages nationwide. The American Trucking Association estimates that the US will need an additional 1.2 million drivers by 2034 to keep up with demand.
Industry Revenue
Long Distance Specialized Freight Trucking
Industry Structure
Industry size & Structure
The average long distance specialized trucking company has about 13 employees and generates $5.4 million in revenue per year.
- The long distance specialized trucking industry consists of about 10,300 companies that employ 134,300 workers, and generate $55.8 billion in revenue.
- The majority of companies (about 85%) are small businesses with 20 employees or less. Only about 175 companies have 500 or more employees.
- The industry is fragmented with the 20 largest firms representing 27% of industry revenue.
- About 95% of US trucking companies operate 10 or fewer trucks.
- Large companies include Landstar Systems, Schneider International, CR England, JB Hunt Transport Services, and XPO Logistics.
Industry Forecast
Industry Forecast
Long Distance Specialized Freight Trucking Industry Growth
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