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Are you a dry van driver? If so, you want to find the best, most supportive company you can. It’s not enough just to find a company that will give you a job; you should search for a company that meets all your expectations.
Looking for the best dry van company out there? We’ve got you covered!
At Anderson Trucking Service (ATS), we want to help you make the best decision for yourself. If ATS isn’t the best place for you, that’s okay. We know we aren’t the best carrier for every driver (even though we think we have a lot of great things to offer!).
That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the best dry van trucking companies. We’ve defined “best” as the van carriers with high driver satisfaction and low turnover. Each carrier on this list has a great reputation and provides drivers with a great quality of life.
The Top Dry Van Companies in 2024
When it comes to finding the best dry van carriers in the industry, it's essential to consider various factors such as reputation, reliability, safety record, equipment quality, and driver satisfaction. While there are several reputable carriers out there, a few names consistently stand out:
- Nussbaum Transportation
- Boyle Transport
- Bison Transport
- Halvor Lines
- UPS
- Old Dominion Freight Line
- Walmart
- Roehl Transport
- Schneider
- Ashley Furniture
Nussbaum Transportation
Founded: 1945
Headquarters: Hudson, Illinois
Insight: Nussbaum Transportation is an employee-owned company that has received countless awards from the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA). They’ve received the Best Fleets to Drive For award for consecutive years and are now in the hall of fame. There are numerous hoops a company has to jump through to receive this honor, including both a deep dive into financial records, pay, and turnover rates as well as interviews with drivers and employees.
They’ve also received excellence and performance awards from various other companies, including Inbound Logistics, FourKites, Heavy Duty Trucking Magazine, SmartWay, and Commercial Carrier Journal.
Drivers can earn upwards of $90,000 in their first year.
Boyle Transportation
Founded: 1971
Headquarters: Billerica, Massachusetts
Insight: Boyle Transportation is a small van carrier that has also been recognized by the TCA. They’ve clinched their spot in the 2024 Best Fleets to Drive For Hall of Fame.
Boyle Transportation is a trusted partner to Big Pharma and also serves the defense sector. They offer both regional and over-the-road (OTR) routes. OTR drivers get two days off per week and all drivers receive access to vacation days, 401K match, and comprehensive insurance plans.
Every OTR driver receives guaranteed weekly minimum pay that varies depending on how much experience they have. For example, a driver with 0-2 years of experience will earn a guaranteed weekly minimum of $2,040.
Bison Transport
Founded: 1969
Headquarters: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Insight: Headquartered in Canada, Bison is North America’s leading asset-based freight solutions partner. They’ve received multiple awards for their services, including the Best Fleets to Drive For Hall of Fame by the TCA in 2024.
Bison is known for employing the latest technologies and for operating one of the largest and most modern fleets in the industry. There’s a reason you can’t go too far down the highway without seeing one of their trucks.
They’re looking for experienced cross-border drivers and owner-operators, but they also look for drivers to drive local routes and Canada-only positions. The privately-held company has a wide range of customers — many of whom are renowned — and gives you the ability to choose your lane.
Halvor Lines
Founded: 1968
Headquarters: Superior, Wisconsin
Insight: Halvor Lines, much like ATS, is a family-run trucking company. They have a positive reputation among drivers and are in the TCA 2024 Hall of Fame for Best Fleets to Drive For.
They boast flexible home time, late-model tractors equipped with new technology and industry-leading pay and career advancement opportunities. Drivers also have access to health and dental insurance, a 401K, and health and wellness programs.
Halvor Lines doesn’t just have options for dry van and deck van drivers; you can also haul flatbeds and reefers here.
UPS
Founded: 1907
Headquarters: Atlanta, GA
Insight: UPS has various driving positions and is a great company to drive with as a dry van driver. They heavily reward their tenured drivers. Pay for tractor-trailer drivers starts at $35 per hour.
UPS is not only known for its great pay and benefits, but it also has a safe fleet of drivers. UPS drivers are also unionized.
As long as you are willing to invest your time with UPS, you will be rewarded with great pay and rewarding career advancement. Tenured UPS drivers are among the highest-paid in the trucking industry.
Old Dominion Freight Line
Founded: 1934
Headquarters: Thomasville, North Carolina
Insight: Old Dominion Freight Line has a legacy of dependability. They have an industry-leading on-time record and a low claims rate.
They have several driving positions available, but 95 percent of their drivers can go home daily. Local pickup and delivery drivers make about 15-20 stops per day and directly interact with customers. Combo drivers work both as local city drivers and dockworkers. Line haul and team drivers drive longer hauls and deliver loads across state lines or cross-country.
Old Dominion also offers a training program if you have yet to earn your Class A CDL. If you’ve already gone through a truck driving training school, Old Dominion offers a tuition reimbursement program to qualifying drivers.
Walmart
Founded: 1962
Headquarters: Bentonville, Arkansas
Insight: Walmart has a private fleet of over 12,000 Class A drivers and it consistently makes best-of lists because it’s a great private fleet to drive for. Their strict hiring standards make them a safe fleet.
Walmart compensates drivers well and they’ll pay you for all the time you spend in your truck, even if you’re sleeping in your truck for your mandatory 10-hour break. In your first year with Walmart, you can make up to $110,000. They also offer bonuses for safe driving.
Choose from hourly driving positions, regional routes or OTR jobs. You can also choose from dry van or reefer jobs.
Great pay, safety and diverse driving positions result in a low turnover rate. Walmart has one of the lowest turnover rates among trucking companies in the industry.
Roehl Transport
Founded: 1962
Headquarters: Marshfield, Wisconsin
Insight: Roehl Transport has won one of the trucking industry’s top honors — the President’s Award from the American Trucking Associations (ATA) — four times.
They work with both new drivers and drivers who’ve been in the industry for years. If you’re a new driver looking for a training company, they can either help you get your Class A CDL or help you get more driving experience. Drivers typically stick around after training too, which can be rare at trucking companies.
They have a variety of driving options, including local, regional, and dedicated truck driving positions.
Roehl is also an industry leader in pay. They have address-to-address practical route mileage calculations and they were one of the first carriers in the industry to offer this practical route mileage pay. Rather than getting paid from city center to city center, drivers get paid for practical route miles from pickup address to destination address.
Schneider
Founded: 1935
Headquarters: Green Bay, Wisconsin
Insight: Schneider has a multitude of opportunities for drivers (given their size and footprint). Despite the stereotype that comes with being a mega carrier, they have a great reputation and take care of their drivers.
Schneider is one of the largest dedicated carriers in the country with options for solo drivers, teams, tanker drivers, OTR drivers, local drivers, regional drivers, and part-time drivers.
They also work with brand-new drivers — whether you've just earned your CDL or you're still looking for a trucking school. You can pursue CDL apprenticeship training, company-sponsored CDL training, or tuition reimbursement.
Drivers haul 95 percent no-touch, drop-and-hook freight.
Top earners take home an average of $86,000 per year.
Ashley Distribution Services
Founded: 1974
Headquarters: Arcadia, Wisconsin
Insight: Ashley Distribution Services started in 1974 as Ashley Furniture’s own private transportation fleet. They’ve quickly become one of the largest fleets in the country.
Ashley has a lot of dedicated routes that allow drivers to go home weekly. They offer some touch jobs but most of them are no-touch.
They might not compare to some of the other companies on the list culture-wise, but they make up for it with quality of pay and job. They have an industry-leading maintenance fleet with out-of-service rates that are below the national average.
Apply at ATS
Do any of these options appeal to you?
Make a list of everything you require out of a trucking company and then start talking to recruiters to learn more. Be sure you choose a company that checks off all the boxes on your list.
This article will help guide you as you choose a trucking company.
Here at ATS, we’re looking for safety-minded drivers with OTR experience. We don’t just offer options for dry van drivers, we also have flatbed, special projects, and heavy haul divisions. Whether you’re in search of a company, lease, or owner-operator position, we’d be happy to have you join the ATS family.
To speak with a recruiter, fill out a contact form or an application.