Newsletter Archive

Is it the right time to sell your trucking company?

Plus: FMCSA modifies maintenance tech requirements

The price is right? Acquiring a carrier or selling your operations to another fleet is a big decision. We called in an expert to shine light on upcoming M&A trends and provide advice for those considering a sale. Plus, big questions loom after California pulls back its EV-related waiver request. What's certain: uncertainty about the state's move to zero emissions.

Today's Lineup
🔷 California's electric truck future remains uncertain
🔷 FMCSA changes maintenance tech requirements
🔷 Letter to Trump: Stop speed limiter mandate
🔷 Making trucking accessible for differently abled drivers

Q&A

Is it time to sell your business?

Buying or selling a company is a careful balancing act — taking into consideration the right company, right time and right price.

There's a good chance that mergers and acquisitions in the trucking industry will pick up steam this year, according to Peter Stefanovich, president of Left Lane Associates, a supply chain M&A advisory firm. We caught up with Stefanovich to hear his predictions for M&A and advice for any fleet thinking it might be time to seal a deal. - Shefali Kapadia

The answers below have been edited for brevity.

What's one big prediction you have for M&A in the trucking industry in 2025?

A rise in transaction volume and value in the U.S. trucking industry in 2025. As the industry continues to recover from the freight recession, business owners seeking to sell their trucking operations are beginning to re-enter the market in greater numbers, equipped with greater clarity of the current and future financial performance of their respective businesses. For strategic acquirers and investors in the industry, increasingly favorable economic conditions provide optimism for the growth prospects of potential acquisition targets.

Is consolidation among trucking carriers typically helpful or harmful to other fleets?

I would argue that consolidation provides a long-term benefit to the trucking industry and the carriers operating within it. In an industry where the vast majority of U.S. carriers are considered “small” or “very small” carriers — operating a fleet of fewer than 20 tractors — larger consolidated fleets possess the necessary resources to innovate and provide more comprehensive service offerings to niche markets, which smaller carriers may lack. Although a consolidated carrier may pose a short-term threat to smaller carriers, its investment in technology and improved services ultimately enhances the industry's ability to meet driver, employee and customer needs over time.

For a trucking carrier considering selling, what's your top piece of advice?

Get a team around you to help you along the sale process. This means internally and externally. You want to have key management onboard who will help you, as an owner, get the information needed when the time comes to present it to your investment banking team and the potential buyers. Externally, it’s vital to bring in outside help to assist in selling your business. That will include your accounting team (who also have a background in mergers and acquisitions), your legal team (again, having a background in M&A) and an investment banking team who knows the industry. Having someone with industry knowledge and the right players to reach out to can mean a difference of millions and millions of dollars.

INSIDE LOOK

Uncertainty hangs over California's electric truck future

After California withdrew its waiver request to enact the Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) rule, the state's trucking industry was left with more questions than answers. What will the transition to electric vehicles look like? Will progress slow or continue?

Many trucking associations objected to ACF, claiming its deadlines were too aggressive. The potential downside: "ACF, and really, California’s move to electrify its trucks, is pretty much dead for now," says Glen Kedzie of E&E Strategies.

Why this matters: There's not one straight road to electrification. Fleets, regulators and OEMs all play a role in advancing zero-emissions goals, but no one knows for certain what progress will look like.

Get more details at FreightWaves.

FAST LANE

SEEN & HEARD

"I wanted a new start. That was basically what trucking was for me... It was getting away from a very bad situation and getting into a good one and becoming independent again." - Marie Norris

Trucking has a reputation of being a "good ol' boys network." But it's also an industry where drivers, including women, have found community and a new family. After a rough home life and relationship, Norris found the trucking industry as a place to have freedom and independence. Learn more about her story on the Truckin' with Tamie podcast.

NEWS

Trucking to Trump: Stop proposed speed limiter mandate

A handful of trucking groups, including the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, wrote a letter to the president asking him to postpone and eventually rescind the FMCSA's proposal to require speed limiters.

Why this matters: While the mandate's intention is safety, the groups in the letter argue that speed limiters would create "dangerous speed differentials" between trucks and cars while also slowing freight movement. (Overdrive)

How one program assists drivers in wheelchairs get CDLs

Doug Teal worked as a truck driver for three months, until an accident left him paralyzed from the chest down. Eager to get back on the road, Teal found a program at Wallace State Community College in Alabama that helps wheelchair users obtain CDLs.

Why this matters: Programs like the one at Wallace help people with disabilities get the certifications they need to join the trucking workforce — a talent pipeline that fleet executives are always looking to fill. (CCJ Digital)

First House committee hearing of the year tackles trucking issues

At the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's first meeting of 2025, lawmakers wasted no time discussing critical topics in trucking, including parking, EVs and workforce.

Why this matters: Truck parking and driver recruitment are high-priority issues in the industry. The question is whether Congress' talk leads to action. (Land Line)