Updated September 2026
Best Trucking Companies in Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee (September 2026)
Lanefinder tracks 396 W2 trucking carriers hiring in Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee. Rankings below reflect September 2026 data: pay percentiles, FMCSA safety, benefit prevalence, and operational performance. WESTERN MOUNTAIN TRANSPORT INC leads with an average weekly pay of $1,700 and an average $5,000 sign-on bonus. FW TRUCKING follows at $1,750/week. Tennessee is a critical national freight crossroads: Memphis hosts the FedEx global air hub and a major trucking interchange on I-40 / I-55, while Nashville-area automotive and manufacturing plants drive dense I-65 / I-24 lane activity.
What changed in September 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 Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee this month
The top of the list is WESTERN MOUNTAIN TRANSPORT INC at $1,700/week. A few names below the top earn more on a weekly-pay basis but rank lower on the composite.
#1WESTERN MOUNTAIN TRANSPORT INC — $1,700/wk
WESTERN MOUNTAIN TRANSPORT INC tops the Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee ranking with the strongest composite score across pay, safety, benefits, and operational signals. WESTERN MOUNTAIN TRANSPORT INC's top FMCSA dimension is driver fitness, in the 93rd percentile. Driver applications get a faster-than-median response in Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee.
#2FW TRUCKING — $1,750/wk
FW TRUCKING ranks in the 92nd percentile for unsafe-driving avoidance on FMCSA SAFER data. Driver applications get a faster-than-median response in Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee.
#3HAZMAT ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP INC — $2,100/wk
HAZMAT ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP INC sits in the 94th percentile for weekly pay among Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee carriers. Top FMCSA dimension here is hours-of-service compliance, in the 99th percentile.
HAZMAT ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP INC offers the highest sign-on bonus among Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee's top 10 — $10,000.
Also in the top 10: #4 JK MOVING & STORAGE INC at $2,200/wk, #5 IMPERIAL EXPRESS LLC at $1,500/wk, #6 Covenant Transport Inc at $1,762/wk, #7 TDR TRANSPORT at $2,200/wk, #8 Clean Recompression LLC at $2,000/wk, #9 WOODFIELD INC at $1,450/wk, #10 South East Carriers INC at $1,600/wk.
Lane mix and benefits across Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee
The route mix in Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee this month tilts OTR: 21% regional, 73% OTR, 5% local, 1% semi-local — drawn from active postings, not historical surveys.
Across Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee CDL postings: 3% with guaranteed pay, 27% dedicated, 79% take-truck-home, 65% pet-friendly, 66% riders-allowed.
How Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee compares to Tennessee
The largest gap is on riders-allowed policies: Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee sits 12 points above the Tennessee 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 Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee
- CDL driver salary in Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee
- Best trucking companies in Tennessee
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 September 2026.