Updated November 2026
Best Trucking Companies in Arkansas (November 2026)
Lanefinder is tracking 556 W2 trucking carriers in Arkansas (November 2026). Herrington Transportation Inc. leads with an average weekly pay of $2,000. FW TRUCKING follows at $1,800/week. Arkansas freight runs on I-40 east-west and I-55 / I-30 corridors, with massive retail distribution demand driven by Walmart's Bentonville headquarters and heavy agricultural shipments of rice, poultry, and soybeans.
What changed in November 2026
SAFE WAY CARRIER LLC at #5, MNS1 EXPRESS INC at #8, and Mountain States L.P. Gas at #9 are new to the top 50 in Arkansas. Biggest climbs: Herrington Transportation Inc. (#37 → #1), FW TRUCKING (#24 → #2), and True Transport Inc. (#20 → #4). Biggest falls: LAWRENCE TRANSPORTATION COMPANY (#1 → #26), SCHMUHL BROTHERS INC (#7 → #18), and CUSTOM TRANSPORT INC (#21 → #31). AHRENS BROTHERS TRANSPORT INC (was #9) left the top 50. Elsewhere in the top 50, 4 carriers joined, 6 left, and 29 changed rank.
All changes since October 2026
The trucking companies leading Arkansas this month
The top of the list is Herrington Transportation Inc. at $2,000/week. A few names below the top earn more on a weekly-pay basis but rank lower on the composite.
#1Herrington Transportation Inc. — $2,000/wk
Herrington Transportation Inc. tops the Arkansas ranking with the strongest composite score across pay, safety, benefits, and operational signals. Weekly pay here lands in the 90th percentile across Arkansas. Herrington Transportation Inc. tracks as a responsive employer on application-response data.
#2FW TRUCKING — $1,800/wk
FW TRUCKING is up from #24 last month, one of the largest jumps in the Arkansas ranking. FW TRUCKING's top FMCSA dimension is unsafe-driving avoidance, in the 90th percentile.
#3HAZMAT ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP INC — $2,100/wk
HAZMAT ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP INC sits in the 92nd percentile for weekly pay among Arkansas carriers. HAZMAT ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP INC ranks in the 99th percentile for hours-of-service compliance on FMCSA SAFER data.
HAZMAT ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP INC leads Arkansas's top 10 on sign-on bonus, advertising $10,000 for new drivers.
Also in the top 10: #4 True Transport Inc. at $2,250/wk, #5 SAFE WAY CARRIER LLC at $2,100/wk, #6 JK MOVING & STORAGE INC at $2,200/wk, #7 Covenant Transport Inc at $1,762/wk, #8 MNS1 EXPRESS INC at $2,050/wk, #9 Mountain States L.P. Gas at $2,000/wk, #10 CAR TRANSPORT INC at $1,650/wk.
What Arkansas drivers actually run
Of active CDL postings in Arkansas this month, 23% are regional and 72% are OTR (long-haul). Local and semi-local routes account for the remaining 5%.
Across Arkansas CDL postings: 2% with guaranteed pay, 27% dedicated, 76% take-truck-home, 62% pet-friendly, 62% riders-allowed.
Driving CDL in Arkansas
Arkansas freight runs on I-40 east-west and the I-30 / I-55 corridors, with Walmart's Bentonville headquarters anchoring a major distribution-and-retail logistics flow in the state. Poultry reefer freight from the Ozarks and row-crop freight from the Delta are steady segments. Cost of living is among the lowest in the country, which makes the comp math work well for drivers based here. Arkansas has a low graduated state income tax. I-40 between Memphis and Little Rock is one of the busier mid-South freight lanes.
Related guides
- Best owner-operator companies in Arkansas
- CDL driver salary in Arkansas
- Best trucking companies in the United States
The methodology behind the rankings
Pay carriers against each other within the same market (30%). Layer a weighted FMCSA SAFER safety percentile on top (25%). Score the benefits package against what actually matters for the hiring type — W2 health/financial benefits or owner-op operational perks (25%). Finish with operational performance: responsiveness to driver applications plus fleet scale (20%). All percentiles are recomputed monthly. Updated November 2026.