Private Carrier Sector Rankings Reflect Fleet Growth
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Across numerous industries ranging from food service and grocery to retail and oil and gas, companies are largely increasing investments in their private fleets and prioritizing in-house transportation.
Although freight market conditions have been favorable to shippers for the past two years, many of the largest private carriers in North America are operating more expansive fleets now than they have in years past.
Food Service
The three largest fleets in the food service industry remain unchanged from last year, as Sysco Corp., US Foods and Performance Foodservice retained the top three spots. While Sysco slightly downsized its fleet by approximately 100 tractors, the latter two bolstered their operations.
PepsiCo Foods North America, the ubiquitous corporation’s food service operation, saw a 22% increase in its fleet size, adding 457 tractors over the past year.
Gordon Food Service ranks No. 5 with a fleet of 2,144 tractors, while McLane Co.’s food service division sits just outside the top five with more than 2,000.
Beverage
The top five beverage distribution fleets remained stable this year, again led by a wide margin by PepsiCo Beverages North America.
See the 2024 Top 100 rankings
►Sector Lists Reflect Fleet Growth
Sector Rankings
Food Service | Grocery | Beverage
Petroleum/Chemical | Industrial Gases
Wholesale/Retail | Manufacturing
Equipment Rental | Building Materials
Waste Management | Construction
Paper/Office Products | Health Care
Uniform Rental | Media & Entertainment
Reyes Holdings operates two of the five largest beverage distribution fleets with its Reyes Beverage Group and Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling business units, which rank No. 2 and No. 4, respectively.
Two more distributors of Coca-Cola products filled out the top five, with Coca-Cola Bottling Co. United ranking No. 3 and Swire Coca-Cola USA at No. 5.
Agriculture and Food Processing
Tyson Foods once again topped the list of the largest fleets in the agriculture and food processing industry, having added 319 tractors in the past year.
Canadian fertilizer producer Nutrien rejoined the list at No. 2 with a fleet of 2,815 tractors, moving CHS Inc. to No. 3.
Darling Ingredients and Prairie Farms Dairy round out the top five after both saw significant growth this year, expanding their tractor fleets by 16.6% and 8.5%, respectively.
Petroleum and Chemical
Halliburton Co. retained its No. 1 spot with the largest fleet in the petroleum and chemical industry, with 4,695 tractors in operation.
After merging in September 2023, the combined operations of Patterson-UTI Energy and NexTier Oilfield Solutions rank No. 2 on the sector list with more than 2,000 tractors.
Cudd Energy Services expanded its fleet by nearly 15% in 2023 and moved up to No. 3.
A shopper browses the aisles at Walmart. (Walmart Inc.)
Wholesale and Retail
With its continued investment in its in-house trucking operation, Walmart Inc. expanded its lead over the field in the wholesale and retail sector, adding 1,302 tractors in the past year.
Amazon.com Inc. retains its No. 2 ranking while Dollar General debuts at No. 3 with 2,000 tractors.
Sherwin-Williams Co. jumped past Walgreen Co. to No. 4 after growing its fleet by 4.4%.
Building Materials
While The Quikrete Cos. maintained its place atop the building materials ranking, the headline is at the No. 2 spot.
Builders FirstSource added 747 tractors to its fleet and jumped ahead of No. 3 CRH Americas and No. 4 Cemex USA, which both saw slight contractions in their fleets.
SRS Distribution, acquired by The Home Depot in June, nearly doubled its fleet, moving to No. 6 on the list with 841 tractors.
Grocery
United Natural Foods Inc. and McLane Co.’s retail division retained their spots as the No. 1 and No. 2 largest grocery distribution fleets in North America. UNFI grew its private fleet by 208 tractors in the past year.
UNFI, the operator of the largest private grocery fleet in North America, continued to bolster its transportation operations in 2023. (United Natural Foods Inc. via Facebook)
The Kroger Co. moved up to No. 3 on this year’s list with a fleet of 1,396 tractors. Ahold Delhaize USA and Albertsons Cos. round out the top five, both operating fleets of more than 1,000 tractors.
Manufacturing
The manufacturing segment bucked the trend of growth in private fleet operations in 2023, as several top fleets in this sector shed tractors during the past year.
The top five remained unchanged from a year ago, with Ashley Furniture Industries again leading the way. Procter & Gamble joined this year’s list at No. 6 with a fleet of 425 tractors.
Waste Management
Clean Harbors stayed ahead of the pack on this year’s list of the largest fleets in the waste management space after adding 267 tractors in the past year.
Clean Harbors expanded its tractor fleet in the waste management sector. (Clean Harbors via Facebook)
Ecology Transportation Services, Stericycle Inc. and Liquid Environmental Solutions retained their respective rankings of Nos. 2, 3 and 4, while Reworld, formerly Covanta, joined the list at No. 5.
Equipment Rental
Although United Rentals once again topped the list of the largest private fleets in the equipment rental sector, its lead is not unchallenged as a downsizing combined with expansions of Nos. 2-4 on the list has narrowed its advantage.
While United Rentals shed more than 500 tractors in the past year, Sunbelt Rentals, WillScot Mobile Mini and Herc Rentals all grew their fleets by at least 11%.
Construction
MasTec Inc. retained its No. 1 ranking of private fleets in the construction sector with its fleet of 737 tractors.
Michels Corp.’s fleet expansion moved it to the No. 2 spot, climbing past No. 3 Williams Bros. Construction and No. 4 Hulcher Services.
Paper and Office Products
The three largest fleets in the paper and office products industry remained unchanged, as Veritiv Corp., Boise Paper Holdings and International Paper continue to top the list.
Imperial Dade expanded its fleet by 115 tractors this year, moving it to No. 4 on the list, while Central National Gottesman climbed into the top five.
Veritiv Corp. again topped the list of the largest tractor fleets in the paper and office products sector in 2024. (Veritiv Corp. via Facebook)
Industrial Gases
The industrial gases sector saw some shakeup this year as Air Products edged Messer Americas for the No. 2 ranking with a 21.6% increase in its fleet size.
American Air Liquide Holdings continues to lead the pack by a wide margin.
Other Sectors
Medline Industries continued to lead the health care sector on this year’s list with a fleet of 1,237 tractors.
Vestis Corp., formerly Aramark Uniform Services, maintained its No. 1 ranking on the uniform rental list.
The media and entertainment sector saw NBCUniversal Media leading the way once again, while CBS Studios and Netflix Inc. joined the list at Nos. 3 and 6, respectively.
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