Updated September 2026
Best Owner-Operator Companies in Montana (September 2026)
Lanefinder is tracking 503 owner-operator carriers in Montana (September 2026). WINNERS TRANSPORTATION LLC leads with an average gross weekly revenue of $2,657 and an average $2,142 sign-on bonus. WESTERN MOUNTAIN TRANSPORT INC follows at $8,500/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 September 2026
We just started tracking monthly changes for this view. Check back next month to see how rankings have shifted.
Montana's top owner-operator carriers right now
The top of the list is WINNERS TRANSPORTATION LLC at $2,657/week. A few names below the top earn more on a weekly-pay basis but rank lower on the composite.
#1WINNERS TRANSPORTATION LLC — $2,657/wk
WINNERS TRANSPORTATION LLC leads the Montana market on combined gross revenue and ranking score this month. WINNERS TRANSPORTATION LLC's FMCSA score is strongest on driver fitness — 92nd percentile. Lanefinder's application data flags WINNERS TRANSPORTATION LLC as a responsive employer.
#2WESTERN MOUNTAIN TRANSPORT INC — $8,500/wk
WESTERN MOUNTAIN TRANSPORT INC pays above the 90th percentile on gross weekly revenue for the Montana market. Top FMCSA dimension here is driver fitness, in the 93rd percentile. Application-response data flags this carrier as a responsive employer.
#3LOAD MONSTER INC — $5,125/wk
LOAD MONSTER INC's FMCSA score is strongest on hours-of-service compliance — 96th percentile. Driver applications get a faster-than-median response in Montana.
Also in the top 10: #4 Rickman Transport, LLC at $9,250/wk, #5 Ali Star Inc at $10,000/wk, #6 BLUE LIGHTNING LOGISTICS at $7,000/wk, #7 KILO METER LOGISTIC INC at $7,500/wk, #8 TP TRUCKING at $8,500/wk, #9 C & G TRANSPORTATION INC at $7,500/wk, #10 COOL MOUNTAIN TRANSPORT at $8,000/wk.
How drivers spend their time on the road in Montana
Of active CDL postings in Montana this month, 6% are regional and 93% are OTR (long-haul). Local and semi-local routes account for the remaining 1%.
Guaranteed pay is on offer at 1% of Montana postings; dedicated routes at 27%; take-truck-home at 93%. Pet-friendly policies appear at 75% and riders-allowed at 73%.
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 Montana
- CDL driver salary in Montana
- Best owner-operator companies in the United States
The methodology behind the rankings
Carriers are scored against carriers in their own market. The composite is 30% compensation (pay + bonus + guaranteed pay + settlement cadence), 25% FMCSA safety, 25% benefits (W2 vs owner-op scoring), and 20% operational performance (responsiveness + fleet scale). No paid placement — the weights are the same for every carrier in the index. Updated September 2026.