Dry van trucking uses a fully enclosed semi-truck trailer to protect the shipment from the elements. This type of trucking is ideal for a variety of different kinds of freight so long as you don’t need the shipment to be temperature-controlled and the freight is not oversized. The best dry van trucking companies are easy to work with and ensure your shipment arrives on time at a reasonable cost. We’ll explain how to find the best companies and what to look for.
Quicklook: Best Dry Van Trucking Companies
- Best For Dry Van and Temperature-Controlled freight: KSM Carrier Group -Match Now
- Best For Intermodal and Logistics: Schneider -Match Now
- Best For Full Supply Chain Services: USA Truck -Match Now
- Best For Dry Van and Warehousing: Pilot Freight Services -Match Now
- Best For Large Terminal Network: Yellow Freight System -Match Now
5 Best Dry Van Trucking Companies
Find a trucking partner that can haul just about any type of goods by reviewing this list of the 5 best dry van trucking companies. Dry van trucking is the company’s specialty, but it also offers flatbed hauling, temperature-controlled, regional or local transportation, and much more.
It can also provide international transportation with air and ocean transport.
KSM Carrier Group
KSM Carrier Group is a technologically advanced transportation firm that specializes in dry van and temperature-controlled freight. They’re constantly expanding and improving their fleet to fulfill their customer’s needs. This company also provides unique load capacity solutions for businesses seeking freight services.
Location: The company’s headquarters are located in Griffith, Indiana.
Services: Dry Van and Temperature Controlled Flight
Employees: 51-200 Employees
Revenue: $19 Million
Special Features:
- Truck Rental Programs
- Diverse Nationwide Logistics network
- Pharmaceutical Load Services
Benefits:
- Low average wait times
- Years of Freight experience
Disadvantages:
- You may have to work with a variety of different drivers.
Pricing: Reach out to the company for a freight quote.
Schneider
Al Schneider sold his family car to buy his company’s first truck to found Schneider in 1935. He ran the company until 1976 when he handed it on to his son, who ran the company for another 27 years. The company keeps that rich family history in how it treats its customers and carriers.
Location: The company is headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They have 40 facility locations throughout the U.S. and southern part of Canada.
Services:
- Truckload
- Intermodal
- Logistics
Employees: 19,600
Revenue: $4.6 billion
Special Features:
- Schnieder FreightPower, a digital marketplace connecting shippers and carriers
- Provides access to about 9,000 trucks
- Worldwide network of 180 properties to make global shipping simple
Benefits:
- One of the oldest trucking companies with decades of experience
- Multilayered safety approach
- Satellite tracking for your shipment to provide excellent visibility
Disadvantages:
- Schneider is a very large company, which can make it challenging to build ongoing relationships with representatives
- You’ll likely work with many different drivers
Pricing: Reach out to Schneider with details about your trucking needs for more information.
USA Truck
With more than 35 years of experience in trucking, USA Truck offers excellent dry van solutions. The company carries a $250,000 surety bond to protect you in case something happens.
Location: The company is headquartered in Van Buran, Arkansas. It has locations in:
- Seattle, WA
- Sacramento, CA
- Laredo, TX
- Dallas, TX
- Springdale, AR
- West Memphis, AR
- Forest Park, GA
- Tipp City, OH
- South Holland, IL
- Carlisle, PA
Services:
- Dedicated Fleet
- Over The Road
- Expedited Freight
- Intermodal
- LTL
- Over-dimensional
- Refrigerated
- Bulk Cargo
- Drayage
Employees: 2,000
Revenue: $417.6 million
Special Features:
- Expedited freight options to get your shipment where it needs to go fast
- Bilingual operations with operators that speak both English and Spanish
- Mexico transborder services trucking in and out of Mexico
Benefits:
- Strong commitment to training drivers and safety
- Financial flexibility to pay how and when it’s best for you
- Full supply chain services, if you want them
Disadvantages:
- Compared to the other carriers available, USA Truck is smaller and has fewer locations
- Fewer drivers and equipment meaning less agile in case of changes or surges in shipment needs
Pricing: Reach out for a shipping quote.
Pilot Freight Services
Pilot Freight Services offers services in 190 countries with 56 domestic locations. It provides global coverage for businesses 7 days a week and 24 hours a day. Add that in with its excellent supply chain resources, and you have a great dry van trucking partner that meets your needs.
Location: Pilot Freight is headquartered in Lima, PA. It also has many locations around the U.S.
Services:
- Cross-border services
- Dry Van
- Custom brokerage
- Supply Chain Consulting
- Flatbed Trucking
- Transportation Management
- Warehousing
- Distribution
Employees: 882
Revenue: $874 million
Special Features:
- Global partners in 190 countries
- Easy shipment tracking with outstanding technology
- Vast network of truck drivers and locations
Benefits:
- Many locations to accommodate the freight needs of large national companies or small, local companies
- More than 50 years of experience
- Outstanding technology that makes interacting with the company simple and tracking freight seamless
- Expertise in B2B, e-commerce, government, automotive, healthcare, retail, airspace, perishables and trade show trucking
Disadvantages:
- Only gets 3.4 stars out of 5 from customers on ConsumerAffairs due to delivery issues
- Tracking tools are not very accurate to tell you where your shipments are currently at
Pricing: Shippers have to reach out to the company to get a quote
Yellow Freight System
Yellow Freight System is one of the largest trucking companies and provides excellent dry van options, along with several other transportation modes to meet your needs.
Location: Yellow Freight System is headquartered in Overland Park, KS, with global terminals and locations.
Services:
- Hazardous Materials
- Next-Day Delivery
- Ocean Freight
- Canada Trucking
- Mexico Trucking
- Sealed Trailer
Employees: 19,000
Revenue: $4.5 billion
Special Features:
- Recognized by Women in Trucking as a top company
- Commitment to environmental excellence
- Award-winning retail solutions
Benefits:
- Freeze protection for temperature-sensitive products
- Hazardous materials transportation
- Large terminal network
- Nearly 100 years of trucking experience
Disadvantages:
- Enormous company can be challenging to navigate at times
- Most contact and complaints are handled through website forms and impersonal channels
Pricing: Reach out for a rate quote.
How Does a Dry Van Trucking Company Work?
Dry van trucking can also be called a box trailer. It is the most common way to transport freight. Unlike flatbed trucks, which are also extremely common, you won’t have to change your packaging techniques to protect your shipment from the elements.
Typically a box trailer is 53 feet long, giving you plenty of room to transport goods. The greatest benefits of this form of trucking include the following.
- Versatile: dry van trucking is ideal for transporting a variety of freight types, including boxed, loose or palletized freight. It has few limitations, which means warehouses or large distributors can ship various items at once.
- Safe from the elements: because the trailers are enclosed, the freight is shielded from the elements or roadway debris. You won’t have to worry about storms or intense heat. And you can lock box trailers, which adds some security to transporting the goods.
- Affordable: because the trucking company doesn’t have to manage temperature controls for the freight, this form of trucking is extremely affordable. And, you have many carrier options.
Things to Consider With Dry Van Trucking Companies
As you look for the best dry van trucking company to aid in transporting goods, you have several factors to consider. Here are some of the most impactful considerations to use as a guideline for selecting the right company.
Experience
When evaluating the trucking company’s experience, consider both the skill of the company as a whole and each individual truck driver. The more experienced trucking companies know how to manage schedules and timelines.
Coverage
Look into where the trucking company operates. If it doesn’t have major hubs and good availability for all the areas you serve, consider a trucking company with better geographical coverage.
Licensing & Regulations
Transporting goods often means crossing state lines where there are various laws and regulations. You want a company that knows and complies with the various laws in the regions you serve.
Ask the trucking company how it handles reviewing each employee’s license and experience before hiring. You don’t want an inexperienced driver harming your goods.
Correct Trailer Sizing
Take some time to consider the size and weight of your shipments. Select a company that can transport a little more than what you actually need so that if the volume of goods fluctuates a bit, you’ll still have room.
When considering the size of the trailer, don’t forget the added weight of people and machines inside the trailer to load and unload the materials. That means that you should plan on your freight being a few hundred pounds lighter than the maximum the trucking company provides you with.
Reliability
If your shipment fails to make it to its destination on time, it could cost you a great deal of money and will certainly be an inconvenience. Look for companies with guarantees or good compensation if they miss those guarantees. And, you want a long-term relationship with a company so that you don’t constantly have to be building a relationship and learning how to work with a new company.
You want to make sure you won’t find out the day of your shipment that the driver is unavailable or running behind on a previous job. Reliability with the trucking company is crucial to your success.
Dry Van Trucking: Safe and Secure
Dry van trucking offers safe and secure transportation of goods. It’s the most common way to transport goods from one location to another and improve inventory management.
FAQ
It is called a dry van because these trailers protect goods from the elements, such as road debris, wind, rain or snow.
A dry van can haul any goods that fit in the trailer and do not need to be temperature-controlled.
Yes, a box truck can be a dry van so long as it is fully enclosed and secured.
Sign up for a FreightWaves e-newsletter to stay informed of all news and trends impacting supply chain careers and operations.
