Updated May 2026
Best Trucking Companies in Knoxville, Tennessee (May 2026)
Knoxville, Tennessee, May 2026: 382 active W2 trucking carriers. KEEP TRUCKING LLC leads with an average weekly pay of $2,200. True Transport Inc. follows at $2,250/week. Knoxville sits at the I-40 / I-75 junction in eastern Tennessee, with Oak Ridge National Laboratory logistics, TVA industrial supply chains, and manufacturing distribution in the Tennessee River corridor feeding regional freight.
What changed in May 2026
We just started tracking monthly changes for this view. Check back next month to see how rankings have shifted.
Where CDL pay is strongest in Knoxville, Tennessee this month
The top of the list is KEEP TRUCKING LLC at $2,200/week. A few names below the top earn more on a weekly-pay basis but rank lower on the composite.
#1KEEP TRUCKING LLC — $2,200/wk
KEEP TRUCKING LLC is number-one in Knoxville, Tennessee this month on the composite ranking. Weekly pay here lands in the 96th percentile across Knoxville, Tennessee. Top FMCSA dimension here is controlled-substances compliance, in the 88th percentile. Application-response data flags this carrier as a responsive employer.
#2True Transport Inc. — $2,250/wk
True Transport Inc. pays above the 92nd percentile on weekly pay for the Knoxville, Tennessee market. True Transport Inc. ranks in the 99th percentile for unsafe-driving avoidance on FMCSA SAFER data. Application-response data flags this carrier as a responsive employer.
Despite ranking below #1, True Transport Inc. outpays the leader on weekly average — $2,250/week.
#3TITANIUM AMERICAN TRUCKING INC — $2,000/wk
TITANIUM AMERICAN TRUCKING INC sits in the 91st percentile for weekly pay among Knoxville, Tennessee carriers. On hours-of-service compliance, the carrier ranks in the 97th percentile per FMCSA SAFER data. TITANIUM AMERICAN TRUCKING INC responds to driver applications more reliably than the Knoxville, Tennessee median.
Also in the top 10: #4 JK MOVING & STORAGE INC at $2,200/wk, #5 Covenant Transport Inc at $1,762/wk, #6 HMD TRUCKING INC at $1,800/wk, #7 Clean Recompression LLC at $2,000/wk, #8 Maumee Express, Inc. at $1,925/wk, #9 PRAIRIE FIELD SERVICES LLC at $1,750/wk, #10 YARBROUGH TRANSFER COMPANY at $1,850/wk.
Lane mix and benefits across Knoxville, Tennessee
21% of Knoxville, Tennessee's active CDL postings are regional and 77% are OTR; local plus semi-local accounts for the rest (2%).
Guaranteed pay is on offer at 2% of Knoxville, Tennessee postings; dedicated routes at 24%; take-truck-home at 81%. Pet-friendly policies appear at 67% and riders-allowed at 69%.
How Knoxville, Tennessee compares to Tennessee
| Knoxville, Tennessee | Tennessee top 50 | Delta | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riders-allowed policies | 80% | 69% | +11 pt |
| Take-truck-home | 92% | 86% | +6 pt |
Source: Lanefinder index, May 2026
Knoxville, Tennessee's biggest divergence from Tennessee is on riders-allowed policies, 11 points above the state baseline.
Driving CDL in Tennessee
Tennessee is a critical national freight crossroads: Memphis hosts the FedEx Express World Hub — one of the world's largest air cargo hubs by tonnage — and a major trucking interchange on I-40 / I-55, with the nightly sort cycle generating enormous regional dispatch demand. Nashville-area automotive (Nissan Smyrna) and manufacturing drive dense I-65 / I-24 lane activity. Cost of living is below the national average; Tennessee has no state income tax on wages. East TN (Chattanooga, Knoxville) is mountain-adjacent — I-40 east through the Smokies and I-24 across Monteagle pass have real winter weight.
Related guides
- Best owner-operator companies in Knoxville, Tennessee
- CDL driver salary in Knoxville, Tennessee
- Best trucking companies in Tennessee
How we compile these rankings
Composite-score formula: compensation × 0.30, FMCSA safety × 0.25, benefits × 0.25, operational performance × 0.20. Compensation is anchored on pay percentile and lifted by sign-on bonus tier and guaranteed-pay availability. Operational performance is built mostly from driver-application response data in Lanefinder's platform, with fleet-scale percentile contributing a smaller portion. Updated May 2026.