Updated July 2026
Best Owner-Operator Companies in Missoula, Montana (July 2026)
Lanefinder tracks 433 owner-operator carriers hiring in Missoula, Montana. Rankings below reflect July 2026 data: pay percentiles, FMCSA safety, benefit prevalence, and operational performance. ROLLING ON WHEELS LLC leads with an average gross weekly revenue of $8,500. INLAND EMPIRE LLC follows at $7,875/week gross. Montana freight is defined by long haul on the Northern Tier I-90 / I-94 corridors, with agricultural shipments of wheat and cattle, coal export volumes from the Powder River Basin, and oil-field service routes in the Bakken region.
What changed in July 2026
We just started tracking monthly changes for this view. Check back next month to see how rankings have shifted.
Where owner-operator pay is strongest in Missoula, Montana this month
The top of the list is ROLLING ON WHEELS LLC at $8,500/week. A few names below the top earn more on a weekly-pay basis but rank lower on the composite.
#1ROLLING ON WHEELS LLC — $8,500/wk
ROLLING ON WHEELS LLC tops the Missoula, Montana ranking with the strongest composite score across pay, safety, benefits, and operational signals. Gross weekly revenue here lands in the 93rd percentile across Missoula, Montana. ROLLING ON WHEELS LLC ranks in the 96th percentile for driver fitness on FMCSA SAFER data. The carrier tracks as a responsive employer on Lanefinder's data.
#2INLAND EMPIRE LLC — $7,875/wk
INLAND EMPIRE LLC sits in the 87th percentile for gross weekly revenue among Missoula, Montana carriers.
#3WINNERS TRANSPORTATION LLC — $2,437/wk
WINNERS TRANSPORTATION LLC's top FMCSA dimension is hours-of-service compliance, in the 96th percentile. Application-response data flags this carrier as a responsive employer.
Also in the top 10: #4 Rickman Transport, LLC at $9,250/wk, #5 GNS TRUCKING INC at $9,000/wk, #6 OVERLOG INC at $3,613/wk, #7 Ali Star Inc at $10,000/wk, #8 BB8 FREIGHT CO at $12,666/wk, #9 BLUE LIGHTNING LOGISTICS at $7,000/wk, #10 TP TRUCKING at $8,500/wk.
How drivers spend their time on the road in Missoula, Montana
Of active CDL postings in Missoula, Montana this month, 6% are regional and 93% are OTR (long-haul). Local and semi-local routes account for the remaining 1%.
Across Missoula, Montana CDL postings: 2% with guaranteed pay, 27% dedicated, 93% take-truck-home, 75% pet-friendly, 73% riders-allowed.
Missoula, Montana vs Montana: the numbers that diverge
Missoula, Montana's biggest divergence from Montana is on average weekly pay, 10% above the state baseline.
Driving CDL in Montana
Montana freight runs the Northern Tier I-90 / I-94 corridors — long, lightly-trafficked, often beautiful, and operationally serious. Wheat and cattle freight dominate outbound; coal from the Powder River Basin generates significant rail-to-truck transfers. Oil-field service in the eastern Bakken corner of the state adds energy-sector loads. Winter is severe and long. Cost of living is moderate, with the Bozeman and Missoula corridors notably more expensive than the rest of the state. Montana has a moderate graduated state income tax. Distances are real: "long-haul" here means a different scale than the Northeast.
Related guides
- Best trucking companies in Missoula, Montana
- CDL driver salary in Missoula, Montana
- Best owner-operator companies in Montana
How we compile these rankings
Compensation is the largest single weight at 30% — pay percentile, sign-on bonus, guaranteed-pay availability, and settlement cadence. FMCSA safety contributes 25%, built from five SAFER dimensions with unsafe-driving and hours-of-service weighted 2× heavier. Benefits contribute 25%, scored separately for W2 versus owner-operator and 1099 carriers. Operational performance — application responsiveness and fleet scale — contributes 20%. Updated July 2026.