![Top Refrigerated Carriers to Drive For in 2024 [and Choosing the Best One for You]](https://blog.drive4ats.com/hubfs/Images/Blog/Reefer%20Carriers/ReeferFeatured.png)
Love running refrigerated freight across the country? Want to find the best refrigerated carrier out there?
When you don’t find the right carrier, you might be left feeling like you’re missing something, which quickly leads to the desire to jump to a new carrier. All that jumping and trying to onboard at a new company can be overwhelming. Even worse, it can have a significant impact on your income.
I’ve put together a list of the best carriers to drive for if you want to move refrigerated freight. Hopefully, it’ll help make the decision easier for you.
Combining my decades of experience in the industry, driver feedback and industry knowledge, this list includes both small and large refrigerated carriers that are the best in the industry at what they do. They’re all-around great carriers when it comes to pay, reputation and options for drivers.
In addition to providing you with the list of the best top refrigerated carriers to work for this year, I’ll provide some guidance about how you can choose the best company to suit your needs.
Let’s get into it!
The Top 10 Refrigerated Carriers to Work For
Keep reading for more information on each carrier. We’ve included information about why we’ve placed them on the list, as well as details about their location, when they were founded and some of their top offerings.
- Boyle Transportation
- Grand Island Express
- Halvor Lines
- Prime Inc.
- Continental Express Inc.
- Stokes Trucking
- Magnum
- Hirschbach
- Marten Transport
- KLLM Transport
A quick note before we keep going: Pay changes all the time, which is why you won’t see pay ranges listed here. Companies pay all their drivers differently based on position and experience, so be sure you ask them what your benefits are depending upon your unique situation.
Boyle Transportation
Founded: 1971
Headquarters: Billerica, MA
Insight: Boyle Transportation has been recognized by the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) as the Best Fleet to Drive For eight years running.
Despite being a small company, they’re still one of the best reefer carriers in the industry. They work with Big Pharma and the defense sector as a trusted partner and haul specialty freight in addition to reefer freight.
Boyle has a high professional standard and, because of that, its turnover is low. Over-the-road (OTR) drivers not only get two days off per week but they also get vacation days, comprehensive insurance plans, 401k match and minimum guaranteed weekly pay.
Grand Island Express
Founded: 1967
Headquarters: Grand Island, Nebraska
Insight: Grand Island Express, just like Boyle, has received awards from the TCA for being one of the Best Fleets to Drive For in the trucking industry. In fact, they’ve gotten the award so many times that they’re in the TCA Best Fleets to Drive For Hall of Fame.
Grand Island Express is also a small trucking company, but that doesn’t diminish its greatness. The company has a family atmosphere, great pay and a strong reputation with drivers. Their reputation with customers is also great.
Despite the smaller size of the company, drivers have options here. There are multiple routes drivers can take, from regional routes to OTR routes.
Halvor Lines
Founded: 1968
Headquarters: Superior, Wisconsin
Insight: Halvor Lines is another award-winning reefer carrier that’s known for fair driver treatment and good pay. They’re also known for investing in new equipment and being on the cutting edge of new technology.
Another reason Halvor Lines stands out is because the company can train drivers. Not only do they have a paid CDL training program and a paid OTR training program, but they also have practice tests on their website to help you prepare.
Halvor Lines also offers flatbed, dry van and deck van freight if you’d like to switch from hauling only reefer freight.
Prime Inc.
Founded: 1970
Headquarters: Springfield, Missouri
Insight: Prime is the largest refrigerated carrier in North America. Despite being such a large carrier, they’re still award-winning and in the TCA Hall of Fame for Best Fleets to Drive For. Oftentimes mega-carriers like Prime aren’t award-winning, but that isn’t the case for Prime. It’s clear they’re doing something right.
They have a lot of driving options if you decide you want to switch to hauling open deck freight, tankers or dry vans. This is especially helpful if you’re a new driver. Prime is a training company and if you decide you don’t like hauling reefer freight, you have the option to switch.
Continental Express Inc.
Founded: 1984
Headquarters: Sidney, OH
Insight: Continental Express Inc., another award-winning carrier, has a wide variety of offerings for drivers. Whether you want to try OTR, regional or dedicated or you want to try out teams, you can at Continental Express.
Continental has more than 1,200 trucks and over 550 drivers. As a family-owned business, they have a great reputation both with drivers and customers. They have competitive pay and great equipment.
Continental has terminals spread across the country — from Oregon to Virginia — which helps the carrier maintain its status as a leading temperature-controlled logistics company.
Stokes Trucking
Founded: 1979
Headquarters: Tremonton, Utah
Insight: Stokes Trucking is another small carrier on this list, but even though they’re small, that doesn’t mean they aren’t mighty. They were rated among the 2022 Fleets to Watch by TCA.
Stokes Trucking boasts a family atmosphere, guaranteed home weekly or twice weekly, new equipment and full benefits, but they may be most well-known for their odometer pay.
Odometer pay is rare in the industry. Stokes pays by the mileage on the driver’s odometer, not what their books say or computer miles. Not only that, but Stokes trucks are governed at 70 mph and PassSmart is enabled. That means that drivers can go above 70 mph when passing.
Magnum
Founded: 1978
Headquarters: Fargo, North Dakota
Insight: Magnum hires OTR, local and regional positions but they may be best known for their OTR positions. In fact, countless drivers who’ve sworn off OTR driving say that they’d only go back to OTR driving if it was with Magnum. That’s saying something!
Magnum treats its drivers very well and prides itself on providing premium service at a competitive rate.
You can haul both reefer or dry van freight at Magnum.
Hirschbach
Founded: 1935
Headquarters: Dubuque, Iowa
Insight: Hirschbach, whose tagline is “not your typical trucking company” is a rapidly growing, fast-paced company with both OTR and dedicated positions.
Hirschbach puts its primary focus on its drivers. That can easily be seen with their CDL training program which not only boasts no out-of-pocket costs but will pay you while you train. The lease program at Hirschbach is so popular that at times they have waiting lists for drivers who want to join the program.
Marten Transport
Founded: 1946
Headquarters: Mondovi, Wisconsin
Insight: Marten Transport offers a wide variety of driving positions, so if you no longer want to haul reefer freight, you have options. You can choose from dedicated, regional or OTR routes and they even have team driving options.
Marten is well-known for their great pay programs. They pay $70,000 per year minimum guaranteed. They have high accessorial pay and they pay detention pay as soon as the driver arrives to pick up and deliver freight.
KLLM Transport
Founded: 1963
Headquarters: Richland, Mississippi
Insight: KLLM Transport is one of the largest refrigerated companies in North America. Because their network spans so wide, you have the chance to pursue multiple career options depending on where you live. You can pursue an OTR, dedicated or regional career.
They offer competitive pay and have now begun to offer guaranteed pay for regional positions.
They accept new drivers and will train you. If you want to be a top earner in the company, take advantage of one of their student-trainer positions.
How to Choose the Best Reefer Carrier
If you want to move reefer freight, the 10 companies listed above are the ones you should start looking into. But how do you decide from the list which is best for you?
They’re all stable, pay well and have a great reputation, so it’s simply a matter of figuring out which one has the unique offerings that you’re looking for. Maybe you want a dedicated or regional route. Maybe you want to take advantage of odometer pay or guaranteed pay. Maybe you’re thinking of eventually switching to hauling flatbed loads. Which company will allow you the growth and freedom you desire?
You also have to factor in hiring areas. These companies are based all around the U.S., so you’ll have to be sure that you live in their hiring area. This will allow you to have the driving route you desire while also getting home as often as you need to.
Dive Into Your Lease Options
By now, you should know exactly what your next step is: Start diving into this list further to see which company meets your needs best.
ATS doesn’t haul reefer freight, but we do move dry van, flatbed and over-dimensional specialized loads if that’s something you’d like to pursue one day.
In addition to this list of the best refrigerated carriers, we have put together lists of the best carriers to look for as a new driver or the best lease purchase programs in the industry right now.
ATS has a great lease purchase program, known for being one of the best in the industry. We offer a one-year lease term and don’t require credit checks or money down.
If you’d like to learn more about your lease purchase options here, fill out a contact form.