Updated November 2026
Best Trucking Companies in Knoxville, Tennessee (November 2026)
Knoxville, Tennessee, November 2026: 369 active W2 trucking carriers. Herrington Transportation Inc. leads with an average weekly pay of $2,000. HAZMAT ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP INC follows at $2,100/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 November 2026
McLeod Express LLC at #4, SAFE WAY CARRIER LLC at #6, and Mountain States L.P. Gas at #8 are new to the top 50 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Biggest climb: Herrington Transportation Inc. (#32 → #1). Biggest fall: LAWRENCE TRANSPORTATION COMPANY (#1 → #20). Elsewhere in the top 50, 3 carriers joined, 6 left, and 26 changed rank.
All changes since October 2026
Where CDL pay is strongest in Knoxville, Tennessee 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. is number-one in Knoxville, Tennessee this month on the composite ranking. Herrington Transportation Inc. pays above the 85th percentile on weekly pay for the Knoxville, Tennessee market. Lanefinder's application data flags Herrington Transportation Inc. as a responsive employer.
#2HAZMAT ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP INC — $2,100/wk
HAZMAT ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP INC pays above the 87th percentile on weekly pay for the Knoxville, Tennessee market. HAZMAT ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP INC's top FMCSA dimension is hours-of-service compliance, in the 99th percentile.
For sign-on cash, HAZMAT ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP INC posts the largest bonus in Knoxville, Tennessee's top 10 at $10,000.
#3True Transport Inc. — $2,250/wk
True Transport Inc. climbed from #11 to #3 this month — one of the biggest moves in Knoxville, Tennessee. The carrier ranks in the 96th percentile for weekly pay in Knoxville, Tennessee. True Transport Inc. ranks in the 98th percentile for unsafe-driving avoidance on FMCSA SAFER data.
Despite ranking below #1, True Transport Inc. outpays the leader on weekly average — $2,250/week.
Also in the top 10: #4 McLeod Express LLC at $1,525/wk, #5 JK MOVING & STORAGE INC at $2,200/wk, #6 SAFE WAY CARRIER LLC at $2,100/wk, #7 Covenant Transport Inc at $1,762/wk, #8 Mountain States L.P. Gas at $2,000/wk, #9 DICK LAVY TRUCKING at $1,950/wk, #10 Clean Recompression LLC at $2,000/wk.
Lane mix and benefits across Knoxville, Tennessee
22% of Knoxville, Tennessee's active CDL postings are regional and 76% are OTR; local plus semi-local accounts for the rest (2%).
Guaranteed pay is on offer at 3% of Knoxville, Tennessee postings; dedicated routes at 25%; take-truck-home at 81%. Pet-friendly policies appear at 68% and riders-allowed at 70%.
How Knoxville, Tennessee compares to Tennessee
| Knoxville, Tennessee | Tennessee top 50 | Delta | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dedicated routes | 28% | 44% | -16 pt |
| Pet-friendly fleets | 76% | 64% | +12 pt |
| Riders-allowed policies | 84% | 72% | +12 pt |
| Take-truck-home | 92% | 84% | +8 pt |
Source: Lanefinder index, November 2026
Knoxville, Tennessee's biggest divergence from Tennessee is on dedicated routes, 16 points below the state baseline.
Driving CDL in Knoxville
Knoxville anchors east Tennessee at the I-40 / I-75 / I-275 cross. Distribution serving the southern Appalachian region, the Tennessee Valley (TVA-related), and University of Tennessee supply chains drive freight. I-75 north through the Jellico mountains and I-40 east through the Pigeon River Gorge into the Smokies are winter operational variables.
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 November 2026.