Trucking companies are a core part of most thriving economies, since they transport materials, machinery, and merchandise all over. Without them, groceries would never make it into the shelves, and countless commodities that we take for granted would go either unmade or undelivered.
Since trucking companies are so heavily relied upon in modern society, they see a lot of business and some pretty high profits! Today we’ll be learning a little bit about 10 of the largest trucking companies in North America according to their recent yearly revenue and learning about what each of them do.
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Landstar System
Number of Trailers: 15,534
Number of Tractors: 9,438
Headquarters Location: Jacksonville, Florida, USA
Source: wikimedia.org
Landstar System, Inc. is a trucking company that specializes in third-party logistics, domestic transportation, and chain solutions. This company makes an active effort to find the best possible drivers through deliberate outsourcing, prioritizing driver experience and safety consciousness. Landstar was originally formed by the acquisition of several other trucking firms, which remains evident in their company names.
Did You Know?
One of Landstar System’s major customers is the United States Military, alongside the construction and automotive industries.
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TFI International
Number of Trailers: 24,617
Number of Tractors: 16,132
Headquarters Location: Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Canada
Source: wikimedia.org
This Canadia logistics and transport company has gained most of its size and strength over the years by acquiring other, smaller trucking companies and transforming them into subsidiaries. TFI International operates in four segments: less-than-truckload, package and courier, truckload, and logistics. This company provides services throughout Canada, the United States, and Mexico.
Did You Know?
In the year 2010, TFI International reduced its trucking fleet by 100 power units, but its improved efficiency enabled them to do so without taking any loss in profits.
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Hub Group
Number of Trailers: 5,850
Number of Tractors: 3,520
Headquarters Location: Oak Brook, Illinois, USA
Source: wikimedia.org
The Hub Group trucking company offers a variety of logistics services to its North American customers, including heavyweight, intermodal, and international shipping. Intermodal shipping streamlines the transportation process between railways, trucks, and ships in order to make the transfer of goods more efficient–and Hub Group employs around 2,500 drivers to keep it going.
Did You Know?
Hub Group owns two subsidiaries, Mode Transportation and Hub Group Trucking, both of which offer logistics, intermodal, and truck brokerage services.
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Schneider National
Number of Trailers: 37,637
Number of Tractors: 11,859
Headquarters Location: Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA
Source: wikimedia.org
This renowned trucking company originally began with Al Schneider himself, personally delivering shipments in the Green Bay area of Wisconsin. Schneider hauls goods and materials for two entire thirds of the Fortune 500 companies, making them an integral part of the American economy. It was also one of the very first companies to use an innovative platform to track the movements of its trucks.
Did You Know?
Schneider National is changing the future of how it does business in 2019, drastically reducing its long-haul trucking services in favor of more localized, regional transport.
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YRC Worldwide
Number of Trailers: 44,600
Number of Tractors: 14,100
Headquarters Location: Overland Park, Kansas, USA
Source: wikimedia.org
YRC Worldwide operates in the segments YRC Freight and Regional Transportation, offering a variety of specialized services such as time-specific deliveries and cross-border transportation services. While YRC Worldwide is well-known as a reliable trucking and transportation company, it originally began as a taxi and bus service named “Yellow Cab Transit Co.”.
Did You Know?
Yellow Transit originally only handled LTL or “less-than-truckload” shipments of under 10,000 pounds due to the fact that the rough road systems were still catching up to the introduction of automobiles.
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Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc.
Number of Trailers: 74,949
Number of Tractors: 23,069
Headquarters Location: Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Source: wikimedia.org
Knight-Swift traces its ancestry back to Swift Transportation, which was originally founded to transport cotton and steel between Phoenix and Los Angeles. The later merger of Swift Transportation and Knight Transportation created the highly successful company we know today, which utilizes unconventional transportation routes in order to excel at its job.
Did You Know?
The Knight-Swift company was founded by a group of four cousins that consisted of two pairs of brothers: Randy and Gary Knight, and Kevin and Keith Knight.
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J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc.
Number of Trailers: 32,931
Number of Tractors: 14,392
Headquarters Location: Lowell, Arkansas, USA
Source: wikimedia.org
This trucking company offers transportation services to customers all throughout North America, and even has partnerships with most North American railway carriers to ensure efficient transportation. J.B. Hunt operates in four segments: Dedicated Contract Services, Integrated Capacity Solutions, Intermodal, and Truckload. Diversifications into these segments have been revolutionary milestones throughout the company’s history.
Did You Know?
When this company first got started in 1961, it had only five trucks and seven trailers!
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XPO Logistics
Number of Trailers: 27,591
Number of Tractors: 16,287
Headquarters Location: Greenwich, Connecticut, USA
Source: wikimedia.org
This massive corporation prides itself on offering logistics services and transportation services to companies around the world in every major industry. Employing approximately 97,000 people in 1,505 different locations, XPO Logistics has acquired over 17 companies in order to broaden its horizons.
Did You Know?
XPO Logistics places high priority on safety in the workplace, offering safety courses for its employees and hiring safety professionals throughout its operating regions.
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FedEx Corp.
Number of Trailers: 113,218
Number of Tractors: 29,873
Headquarters Location: Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Source: wikimedia.org
While this massive trucking and delivery company prominently advertises its express delivery services, they also offer more affordable, slower ground shipping. FedEx also operates multiple subsidiaries in two separate segments to handle ground and air shipping. Alongside its various shipping services, this company also supplies technology solutions, trade advisory services, and 3D printing.
Did You Know?
FedEx offers its fast, reputable services in over 220 different countries and territories around the world.
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United Parcel Service (UPS) Inc.
Number of Trailers: 97,746
Number of Tractors: 18,683
Headquarters Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Source: wikimedia.org
The United Parcel Service is the largest for-hire trucking company in North America by revenue. UPS was founded back in 1907, and tried early on to emphasize its delivery services above trucking by referring to its trucks as “package cars”. Regardless of their name, the UPS delivery vehicles were cleverly painted brown as a way to camouflage the dirt picked up during their extensive delivery routes.
Did You Know?
The United Parcel Service delivered 5.2 billion packages and documents in the year 2018 alone!