Updated November 2026
Best Trucking Companies in Minnesota (November 2026)
Lanefinder tracks 454 W2 trucking carriers hiring in Minnesota. Rankings below reflect November 2026 data: pay percentiles, FMCSA safety, benefit prevalence, and operational performance. Herrington Transportation Inc. leads with an average weekly pay of $2,000. HAZMAT ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP INC follows at $2,100/week. Minnesota freight moves on the I-35 / I-94 Twin Cities metro grid and reaches the Great Lakes at Duluth, with large agricultural export volumes — soybeans, corn, and wheat — and a significant medical-device manufacturing sector.
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 Minnesota. Biggest climb: Herrington Transportation Inc. (#36 → #1). Biggest falls: LAWRENCE TRANSPORTATION COMPANY (#1 → #24) and CYCLE LOGISTICS INC (#14 → #26). Elsewhere in the top 50, 7 carriers joined, 10 left, and 36 changed rank.
All changes since October 2026
| Carrier | Last month | This month | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Herrington Transportation Inc. | #36 | #1 | Up 35 places |
| True Transport Inc. | #12 | #3 | Up 9 places |
| PREMIER TRANSPORTATION | #3 | #4 | Down 1 place |
| SAFE WAY CARRIER LLC | Not ranked | #5 | New |
| Covenant Transport Inc | #5 | #6 | Down 1 place |
| JK MOVING & STORAGE INC | #4 | #7 | Down 3 places |
| MNS1 EXPRESS INC | Not ranked | #8 | New |
| Mountain States L.P. Gas | Not ranked | #9 | New |
| Great Plains Trucking Inc. | #6 | #10 | Down 4 places |
| DICK LAVY TRUCKING | Not ranked | #11 | New |
| CAR TRANSPORT INC | Not ranked | #12 | New |
| PRAIRIE FIELD SERVICES LLC | #7 | #13 | Down 6 places |
| ARKA EXPRESS INC | Not ranked | #14 | New |
| Badger Express LLC | #8 | #15 | Down 7 places |
| Diaz Stone & Pallet Inc. | #10 | #16 | Down 6 places |
| JS HELWIG & SON LLC | #11 | #17 | Down 6 places |
| SECOR LOGISTICS LLC | #9 | #18 | Down 9 places |
| G-DIAMOND TRANSPORT INC | #13 | #19 | Down 6 places |
| ELBERTA LOGISTICS INTERNATIONAL LLC | #17 | #20 | Down 3 places |
| MC CARRIER LLC | #19 | #21 | Down 2 places |
| ALBA TRANS INC | #15 | #22 | Down 7 places |
| Wynne Transport Service | Not ranked | #23 | New |
| LAWRENCE TRANSPORTATION COMPANY | #1 | #24 | Down 23 places |
| BRADY TRUCKING INC | #16 | #25 | Down 9 places |
| CYCLE LOGISTICS INC | #14 | #26 | Down 12 places |
| COOL MOUNTAIN TRANSPORT | #20 | #27 | Down 7 places |
| KEN GRAHAM TRUCKING INC | #21 | #28 | Down 7 places |
| HOLLAND ENTERPRISES INC | #24 | #29 | Down 5 places |
| A & H INC | #29 | #30 | Down 1 place |
| RIVER CITY TRANSPORT INC | #22 | #31 | Down 9 places |
| KAISER TRANSPORT INC | #27 | #32 | Down 5 places |
| PASCAL CARRIER INC | #28 | #33 | Down 5 places |
| HAWKS TRANSPORT LLC | Not ranked | #34 | New |
| TAYLOR TRUCK LINE INC | Not ranked | #35 | New |
| AFC Transport, Inc | #34 | #36 | Down 2 places |
| AN ENTERPRISE INC | #30 | #37 | Down 7 places |
| BARTELS TRUCK LINE INC | #32 | #38 | Down 6 places |
| EA EXPRESS LLC | #35 | #39 | Down 4 places |
| CARGORX DRY CAPACITY | #38 | #40 | Down 2 places |
| LUCKY WORLD INC | Not ranked | #41 | New |
| Bertch Cabinet LLC | #37 | #42 | Down 5 places |
| HUTCHINSON TRUCKING LLC | #39 | #43 | Down 4 places |
| GURTLER INDUSTRIES INC | #40 | #44 | Down 4 places |
| CJC CARRIER LLC | #42 | #45 | Down 3 places |
| TDR TRANSPORT | #43 | #46 | Down 3 places |
| CTK LOGISTICS LLC | #45 | #47 | Down 2 places |
| SEMO EXPRESS LLC | #46 | #48 | Down 2 places |
| Bakers Express | #47 | #49 | Down 2 places |
| EAGLE EYE TRUCK LINES LLC | #48 | #50 | Down 2 places |
| H & M TRUCKING INC | #18 | Not ranked | Dropped out |
| UPPER LAKES FOODS INC | #23 | Not ranked | Dropped out |
| NEIER INC | #25 | Not ranked | Dropped out |
| WILLIAMS PRESTIGE ENTERPRISE | #26 | Not ranked | Dropped out |
| Z TRANSPORTATION INC | #31 | Not ranked | Dropped out |
| Excel Trucking LLC | #33 | Not ranked | Dropped out |
| REISCH TRUCKING INC | #41 | Not ranked | Dropped out |
| JL LOGISTICS INC | #44 | Not ranked | Dropped out |
| S & R TRANSPORTATION LLC | #49 | Not ranked | Dropped out |
| National Express Carriers | #50 | Not ranked | Dropped out |
The trucking companies leading Minnesota 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 Minnesota this month on the composite ranking. Weekly pay here lands in the 92nd percentile across Minnesota. Herrington Transportation Inc. tracks as a responsive employer on application-response data.
#2HAZMAT ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP INC — $2,100/wk
HAZMAT ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP INC's weekly pay ranks in the 94th percentile across Minnesota. HAZMAT ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP INC ranks in the 99th percentile for hours-of-service compliance on FMCSA SAFER data.
HAZMAT ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP INC offers the highest sign-on bonus among Minnesota's top 10 — $10,000.
#3True Transport Inc. — $2,250/wk
True Transport Inc. is up from #12 last month, one of the largest jumps in the Minnesota ranking. True Transport Inc. pays above the 92nd percentile on weekly pay for the Minnesota market. True Transport Inc.'s top FMCSA dimension is unsafe-driving avoidance, in the 98th percentile.
True Transport Inc. actually pays more weekly than the top-ranked carrier — $2,250/week.
Also in the top 10: #4 PREMIER TRANSPORTATION at $1,950/wk, #5 SAFE WAY CARRIER LLC at $2,100/wk, #6 Covenant Transport Inc at $1,762/wk, #7 JK MOVING & STORAGE INC at $2,200/wk, #8 MNS1 EXPRESS INC at $2,050/wk, #9 Mountain States L.P. Gas at $2,000/wk, #10 Great Plains Trucking Inc. at $1,750/wk.
Lane mix and benefits across Minnesota
20% of Minnesota's active CDL postings are regional and 68% are OTR; local plus semi-local accounts for the rest (12%).
Across Minnesota CDL postings: 1% with guaranteed pay, 28% dedicated, 74% take-truck-home, 60% pet-friendly, 61% riders-allowed.
Driving CDL in Minnesota
Minnesota freight moves on the I-35 / I-94 Twin Cities grid and reaches the Great Lakes at Duluth, a significant Lake Superior port. Agricultural exports — soybeans, corn, wheat — drive heavy outbound volume. A significant medical-device manufacturing sector (Medtronic and others) generates high-value freight. Winter is the dominant operational variable: sub-zero stretches affect equipment, idle-time policy, and HOS realism. Minnesota has a high graduated state income tax — among the higher rates in the country. First-time Twin Cities runs should check truck-route restrictions carefully.
Related guides
- Best owner-operator companies in Minnesota
- CDL driver salary in Minnesota
- Best trucking companies in the United States
How we compile these rankings
Compensation is the largest single weight at 30% — pay percentile, sign-on bonus, guaranteed-pay availability, and settlement cadence. FMCSA safety contributes 25%, built from five SAFER dimensions with unsafe-driving and hours-of-service weighted 2× heavier. Benefits contribute 25%, scored separately for W2 versus owner-operator and 1099 carriers. Operational performance — application responsiveness and fleet scale — contributes 20%. Updated November 2026.