Updated July 2026
Best Trucking Companies in Illinois (July 2026)
Lanefinder tracks 727 W2 trucking carriers hiring in Illinois. Rankings below reflect July 2026 data: pay percentiles, FMCSA safety, benefit prevalence, and operational performance. LAWRENCE TRANSPORTATION COMPANY leads with an average weekly pay of $1,680. Forest Brook Trucking LLC follows at $1,600/week. Illinois anchors the US rail and truck network through Chicago, the largest intermodal hub in North America, with I-80 / I-90 / I-55 feeding a dense concentration of manufacturing, warehousing, and cold-chain freight.
What changed in July 2026
We just started tracking monthly changes for this view. Check back next month to see how rankings have shifted.
The trucking companies leading Illinois this month
The top of the list is LAWRENCE TRANSPORTATION COMPANY at $1,680/week. A few names below the top earn more on a weekly-pay basis but rank lower on the composite.
#1LAWRENCE TRANSPORTATION COMPANY — $1,680/wk
LAWRENCE TRANSPORTATION COMPANY tops the Illinois ranking with the strongest composite score across pay, safety, benefits, and operational signals. LAWRENCE TRANSPORTATION COMPANY ranks in the 91st percentile for driver fitness on FMCSA SAFER data. The carrier tracks as a responsive employer on Lanefinder's data.
#2Forest Brook Trucking LLC — $1,600/wk
Forest Brook Trucking LLC's FMCSA score is strongest on hours-of-service compliance — 97th percentile. Application-response data flags this carrier as a responsive employer.
#3PREMIER TRANSPORTATION — $1,950/wk
PREMIER TRANSPORTATION pays above the 86th percentile on weekly pay for the Illinois market. Top FMCSA dimension here is driver fitness, in the 97th percentile.
Also in the top 10: #4 True Transport Inc. at $2,250/wk, #5 Covenant Transport Inc at $1,762/wk, #6 South East Carriers INC at $1,600/wk, #7 JK MOVING & STORAGE INC at $2,200/wk, #8 Great Plains Trucking Inc. at $1,750/wk, #9 MCK TRUCKING INC at $1,700/wk, #10 OMAHA TRACK INC at $2,000/wk.
How drivers spend their time on the road in Illinois
27% of Illinois's active CDL postings are regional and 54% are OTR; local plus semi-local accounts for the rest (19%).
Guaranteed pay is on offer at 3% of Illinois postings; dedicated routes at 28%; take-truck-home at 65%. Pet-friendly policies appear at 54% and riders-allowed at 53%.
Driving CDL in Illinois
Illinois is one of the most strategically located CDL states — Chicago is the largest US intermodal rail hub, so a huge percentage of national freight passes through. The metro lanes pay well but congestion on I-80, I-90, and I-294 is consistent enough to be a real income variable. Outside the Chicago metro, downstate Illinois looks much more like Iowa or Indiana — agricultural freight, less density, easier driving. State income tax is moderate. The winter operational profile is severe: lake-effect snow, road salt, and the freezing-thawing cycle eat equipment faster than most southern states.
Related guides
- Best owner-operator companies in Illinois
- CDL driver salary in Illinois
- Best trucking companies in the United States
The methodology behind the rankings
Rankings combine four signals: compensation (30%) including pay percentile, sign-on bonuses, guaranteed pay, and settlement frequency; FMCSA safety (25%); benefits (25%) scored differently for W2 vs owner-operator carriers; and operational performance (20%) measuring employer responsiveness and fleet scale. Recomputed monthly from real active job postings. Updated July 2026.