Safety, equipment, home base, paid time off, insurance, and more make a trucking company to great work for. Whether you’ve just earned your CDL-A or you’re a seasoned driver, finding the company that fits your needs and protects your career goals is essential. Here are some of the best trucking companies, known for driver safety, great benefits, and lower driver turnover.
Quicklook: Best Trucking Companies to Work For
- Best For Comfort and Safety: Roehl
- Best For Job Security: Sysco
- Best For Compensation: GP Transco
- Best For Families: Bison Transport USA
- Best For Insurance and Growth: Walmart
- Best For Driver Accommodations: Brady Trucking Inc.
Top 6 Trucking Companies To Work For
Each of these companies offers stand-out company benefits, compensation, hours, and flexibility. Find the best transportation company for your location and needs below.
Roehl Transport
The cornerstone of Roehl Transport is driver safety. They are known for a driver-driven culture that offers more home time along with higher pay. With Rick Roehl, the company’s CEO, being a driver himself, Roehl is better equipped to understand driver needs.
They offer some of the best equipment for both driver comfort and safety, as well as CDL training and opportunities for drivers to become owner-operators.
Best For: Comfort and Safety
Benefits:
- Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance
- Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
- Life Insurance
- Voluntary Insurance Benefits
- Employee Assistance Program
- Paid Time Off
- Retirement Package
- 401(k)
- Profit Sharing
- Financial Benefits
- Prudential Pathways to Help you Manage your Day-to-Day Finances and Achieve your Financial Goals
- Transitions Company Benefits
- More Home Time
Disadvantages:
- Load Wait Time Variable
- Some CDL Trainees Wanted Further Training
Pay rate: Average annual salary of $35,000 to $73,000 with exceptional company benefits.
Rating: 3.1 out of 5 on Indeed.com
Sysco
One job market that will not be declining any time soon is the food distribution industry. A name near the top of food-suppliers’ list is Sysco, a leader in selling, marketing, and distributing food products. Whether you are looking for a local position or a longer-range driving position, Sysco has many different types of trucking opportunities.
They have been recognized as one of the most responsible companies and for having a diverse working environment.
Best for: Job security
Benefits:
- Health and Dental Insurance
- 401K Plans
- Variety of Medical Plans so You Can Pick the Best One for You.
- $7,500 Signing Bonus
Disadvantages:
- Staff Shortages
- Can Have Too Much Overtime
Pay rate:
- Over $54,000 per year average
GP Transco
If you want a job that will keep you happy and make sure all its drivers are taken care of, GP Transco might be the fit for you. They have one of the lowest turnover rates for their drivers and they’re an honest company that cares about you. They work to constantly add new technologies and improvements to fleet operations, helping carriers go further.
Best for: Compensation
Benefits:
- Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance Company Benefits
- Paid Vacation and Holidays
- 401K with a 5% Match
- Base Pay of 75 CPM (cents per mile)
Disadvantages:
- Must Have and Maintain a Valid CDL License
- Must Have One Verifiable Year of Tractor-Trailer Experience
Pay rate:
- $84,850 Average Salary
Rating: 3.8 out of 5 on Indeed.com
Bison Transport USA
Bison Transport USA, formerly H.O. Wolding has merged with Britton Transport. H.O Wolding has small-town values as a company, exceptional safety, and a significantly low turnover rate. Britton Transport brings to the company the latest technologies, and one of the largest, most modern, and safest fleets.
If you have pre-approval and pay a small insurance fee, you can even have an immediate family member ride along with you.
Best for: Families
Benefits:
- Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance
- Short-Term Disability Pay
- Excellent Home Time
- Tuition Re
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- 401(K) Plan
Disadvantages:
- Applicants Must Live in Specified Recruitment Areas
- Applicants can’t have More than One Preventable Accident in the Past Five Years on Their Record.
Pay rate:
- $34,000 – $82,000 per year
Rating: 3.4 out of 5 on Indeed.com
Walmart
With its own fleet of trucks and great company benefits, Walmart has built a successful place for truck drivers to work. With an exceptional list of benefits, drivers have a job that pays well and keeps them safe and healthy.
Walmart prides itself on offering drivers both stability and growth. Recently, they have increased the mileage and activity pay for all Class A driving jobs nationally.
Best for: Insurance and growth
Benefits:
- Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance
- Life Insurance
- Retirement Plan
- Start Earning PTO (Paid Time Off) Quickly! Up to 21 Days in Your First Year.
- 401K
- Quarterly Safe Driving Bonuses
- Consecutive Days Off Work
Disadvantages:
- No Preventable DOT Recordable Accidents Allowed
- Drivers Need a CDL Class A License with Hazmat Endorsement
- Days Off Tend to Vary and are not Always on Weekends.
Pay rate:
- Over $86,000 per year average
Rating: 3.4 out of 5 on Indeed.com
Brady Trucking Inc.
Brady Trucking Inc. offers multiple types of driving opportunities including drop-deck, flatbed, hazmat, dry-bulk, and more. Brady’s Trucking offers safe and reliable trucks and routes that are local, regional, and long-haul.
Every Brady terminal has laundry services, showers, a kitchenette, and even a driver’s lounge. In some locations, there are rider programs available.
Best for: Driver Accommodations
Benefits:
- Sign-On Bonus
- Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
- Life Insurance
- 401K and Company Match
- They offer Mentorship $2000 Driver Referral Bonuses for Every Driver You Refer.
Disadvantages:
- Most Positions Require 3 Weeks On and 1 Week Off.
- 1-Year Experience Driving Tractor-Trailers Preferred
Pay rate:
- An Average of Over $81,900 per Year.
Rating: 3.3 out of 5 on Indeed.com
What To Look For in a Trucking Company
As a driver, you need to understand what trucking companies have to offer. To know what to look for, here are some major points to find out when reading up on a potential employer.
Pay
Truckers are on the road for long hours and often away from home for days or weeks at a time. Compensation should be proportionate. Truckers are generally paid by the mile. This can be great if you plan on being on the road a lot, and you can cover a lot of ground in a single day. Make sure you are well informed of the rates for starting, and bonuses as well as if and when you can expect an increase in those rates.
Another important factor to find out about your pay would be Practical Miles and HHG, also known as short route miles. Practical miles is when you take a longer route that ends up being faster than the HHG route, which is fewer miles but a longer drive time. Since truckers are paid by the mile you would make more for a Practical Miles route instead of an HHG route.
Finally, before selecting a company, look for growth opportunities, PTO, and annual bonuses.
Benefits
A company that provides insurance coverage and retirement plans, among other things, is a great place to be. Look for health insurance, life insurance, and even vision and dental insurance. Consider this the bare minimum.
The other important company benefits to keep in mind is home time. You want to know that the company will work with you to let you be home as often as you need to be, whatever those reasons may be. You can find things like this out by searching forums, talking to drivers already employed by the company, and even asking directly.
Equipment and Safety
Having your home time means nothing if you are not safe while on the road. Since you are driving a trailer that can be anywhere up to 80,000 pounds, you need to know that the cab you are in can safely handle the load not only for your safety but also for the safety of those around you.
Look for companies that use the latest technologies for safety and keep trucks well maintained with excellent safety records. To find out more regarding a company’s safety history, you can view some data on the FMCSA website.
If you are a truck driver that will often be on the road even overnight, make sure you are going to be comfortable. The living spaces in cabs can feel small and you will have to get by with not very much. Some companies go the extra length to make drivers comfortable on the road, from food stipends to showers and exercise facilities.
Weigh comfort with the other factors here, and with some ingenuity, you can take care of yourself and make even the small cab space comfortable.
Find the Right Fit
What is the most important for you: total pay, home time, PTO, safety, or proximity to home? All of these are important, along with growth opportunities. Choosing a company that has low driver turnover can indicate greater overall employee satisfaction.
The best trucking companies to work for listed here blend all of these factors, along with good company benefits packages. Many have shown significant average salary increases even in the last few years, a good indication that salary and growth opportunities could be on the rise. Choosing the company that is right for you can lead to both career growth and satisfaction.
FAQ
According to recent trends, Sysco is the highest-paying trucking company. However, individual drivers at other companies may make more than the average. When comparing pay, consider total company benefits.
Wal-Mart’s trucking company has one of the lowest turnover rates. GP Transco and H.O. Wolding both also have very low turnover rates, making them some of the best transportation companies.
Many of the top trucking companies are highly reliable. FedEx freight is one of the most reliable trucking companies. YRC Freight, XPO, Old Dominion, and TForce Freight all rank highly for reliability.
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