The top LTL carriers by revenue are FedEx Freight, Old Dominion Freight Line, Estes Express Lines, XPO and R+L Carriers, according to Transport Topics’ 2026 ranking of less-than-truckload carriers. FedEx Freight leads with about $8.7 billion in annual revenue, followed by Old Dominion at about $5.5 billion and Estes at an estimated $5.0 billion.
This page ranks the biggest LTL companies, explains what the ranking does and doesn’t tell you, and covers the changes that reshaped the top of the list: Yellow’s 2023 shutdown and FedEx Freight’s separation from FedEx on June 1, 2026.
Who are the biggest LTL companies by revenue?
Transport Topics ranks LTL carriers operating in the U.S., Canada and Mexico by annual revenue, using company figures where they’re published and SJ Consulting Group estimates for privately held carriers. The 2026 list, based on 2025 revenue, puts these carriers in the top 15:
| Rank | Carrier | Annual revenue | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FedEx Freight | $8.68 billion | Public (NYSE: FDXF) since June 1, 2026 |
| 2 | Old Dominion Freight Line | $5.50 billion | Public |
| 3 | Estes Express Lines | $4.99 billion (est.) | Private |
| 4 | XPO | $4.83 billion | Public |
| 5 | R+L Carriers | $3.73 billion (est.) | Private |
| 6 | Saia | $3.23 billion | Public |
| 7 | ABF Freight | $2.74 billion | Part of ArcBest |
| 8 | TFI International (TForce Freight) | $2.73 billion | Public |
| 9 | Central Transport | $1.71 billion (est.) | Private |
| 10 | Southeastern Freight Lines | $1.64 billion | Private |
| 11 | AAA Cooper Transportation | $1.48 billion | Part of Knight-Swift |
| 12 | Averitt Express | $1.10 billion | Private |
| 13 | Dayton Freight Lines | $1.03 billion | Private |
| 14 | Pitt Ohio Transportation Group | $1.02 billion (est.) | Private |
| 15 | Manitoulin Transport | $0.75 billion (est.) | Private |
Further down the same list are A. Duie Pyle, Day & Ross, Mullen Group, Roadrunner Freight (19th) and Oak Harbor Freight Lines (21st). Revenue figures marked “est.” are estimates for private companies, and TFI International’s figure covers its LTL operations, which in the U.S. run as TForce Freight.
How big is the LTL market?
SJ Consulting Group, whose figures are published in Logistics Management’s annual carrier rankings, put the U.S. LTL market at about $51.8 billion in 2025, down 1.9% from the year before as freight demand stayed soft. The largest carriers hold most of that market: the top 25 together account for the large majority of LTL revenue, and the five largest carriers together generate roughly half of it.
Less-than-truckload works differently from truckload. Each carrier runs a network of terminals where freight from many shippers is sorted and loaded onto shared trailers, which is why the industry is concentrated in companies that can afford large terminal networks. Our guide to LTL freight and logistics explains how that hub-and-spoke system works, and our comparison of LTL vs FTL shows where LTL ends and truckload begins.
What changed at the top of the LTL rankings?
Two events have shaped the current list. Yellow Corporation, once one of the largest LTL carriers, stopped operating in July 2023 and filed for bankruptcy in August 2023. Its freight moved to the remaining carriers, and several of them, including XPO, bought or leased former Yellow terminals to expand their networks.
Then on June 1, 2026, FedEx completed the spin-off of FedEx Freight. The largest LTL carrier is now an independent company focused on North American LTL, trading on the New York Stock Exchange as FDXF, and its shipping, billing and tracking moved to fedexfreight.com. Our guides to FedEx Freight Priority vs Economy and FedEx LTL freight tracking cover what that means for shippers.
What does each top LTL carrier offer?
Size tells you a carrier’s reach, not whether it’s the best fit for your lane. Here’s how the largest carriers are positioned:
- FedEx Freight: the largest network, with FedEx Freight Priority for faster delivery, FedEx Freight Economy for lower cost, and FedEx Freight Direct for heavy deliveries to the door.
- Old Dominion Freight Line: a national carrier known for service quality, often cited in shipper surveys for on-time delivery and low claims.
- Estes Express Lines: a privately held carrier that says it offers direct service in all 50 states.
- XPO: a national LTL carrier that expanded its terminal network with former Yellow sites.
- R+L Carriers: a privately held carrier with a national terminal network.
- Saia: a carrier that grew from a Southern regional network into coast-to-coast coverage.
- ABF Freight: the LTL carrier of ArcBest, with a long-established national network.
- TForce Freight: the U.S. LTL operation of TFI International.
Regional carriers such as Southeastern Freight Lines, AAA Cooper, Averitt, Dayton Freight and Pitt Ohio can be faster or more competitive inside their core territories. Our page on national LTL carriers vs regional carriers explains when each type fits, and the broader list of freight shipping companies covers truckload and other freight providers.
How do you choose among the top LTL carriers?
Pick the carrier that serves your lanes well, not the one with the most revenue. A few checks narrow the field quickly:
- Coverage: confirm the carrier serves both ZIP codes directly rather than handing the freight to a partner.
- Transit time: compare the estimated business days on your lane, and whether a guaranteed option exists.
- Accessorials: check that the carrier offers the services you need, such as liftgate, residential or appointment delivery.
- Claims and liability: review the carrier’s liability limits for your commodity and its claims process.
- Total price: compare quotes with fuel and accessorials included, using the same shipment details for every carrier.
The fastest way to compare is one quote request that returns several carriers. ParcelPath‘s LTL service, PalletPath, compares carriers including ABF Freight, TForce Freight, Oak Harbor Freight Lines, FedEx Freight Priority and Roadrunner in its free LTL freight quote tool. Our guides to getting an LTL freight quote and to how LTL freight rates are calculated explain what to compare.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the largest LTL carrier in the United States?
FedEx Freight is the largest LTL carrier, with about $8.68 billion in annual revenue in Transport Topics’ 2026 ranking of less-than-truckload carriers. It became an independent company on June 1, 2026, when FedEx completed its spin-off, and it now trades on the New York Stock Exchange as FDXF. Old Dominion Freight Line ranks second.
Who are the top 5 LTL carriers?
The top 5 LTL carriers by revenue are FedEx Freight, Old Dominion Freight Line, Estes Express Lines, XPO and R+L Carriers, according to Transport Topics’ 2026 ranking. Saia, ABF Freight and TFI International, whose U.S. LTL business is TForce Freight, follow in sixth, seventh and eighth place.
What happened to Yellow, the LTL carrier?
Yellow Corporation stopped operating in July 2023 and filed for bankruptcy in August 2023, removing one of the largest LTL networks from the market. Its customers moved to other carriers, and several carriers, including XPO, acquired former Yellow terminals. That shift is part of why the current ranking of top LTL carriers looks different from a few years ago.
Are the biggest LTL carriers always the best choice?
The biggest LTL carriers offer the widest coverage, but they aren’t automatically the best choice for every shipment. A regional carrier can be faster or cheaper inside its core territory, and a national carrier usually wins on long, cross-country lanes. Comparing quotes from several carriers on the same shipment details shows which one fits your lane.
Sources
- Transport Topics: 2026 Top Less-Than-Truckload Carriers (ttnews.com/for-hire/ltl/2026)
- Logistics Management / SJ Consulting Group: Top 50 Trucking Companies and Top 25 LTL Carriers
- FedEx Newsroom: FedEx Completes Spin-Off of FedEx Freight, June 1, 2026 (newsroom.fedex.com)
- FedEx Freight: services overview (fedexfreight.com)
- Estes Express Lines: About Estes (estes-express.com)
Part of our ParcelPath Going Freight LTL shipping guide. Related: LTL Freight, LTL Freight and Logistics, LTL vs Parcel.
