You don’t have time to troubleshoot supply chain slowdowns day in and day out — your company has goods to move, customer commitments to meet, and bottom lines to maintain.
The good news is, with the right providers in your corner, avoiding issues with your flatbed shipments doesn’t have to be difficult.
But with so many providers to choose from (and so much to consider when doing so), it can be difficult for any shipper to be confident their carrier network is as strong as it can be.
Anderson Trucking Service (ATS) has been building our expertise as a transportation company for 70 years. Today, ATS Specialized, Inc. operates more than 1,800 multi-axe specialized trailers and consistently ranks among the best flatbed providers in the industry.
Of course, there are a lot of great flatbed trucking companies in the U.S. Although we’re confident in our ability to help shippers move flatbed freight, we recognize that there are other options out there.
And, at the end of the day, the things that matter most to us are your satisfaction and the smooth facilitation of your supply chain — even if we’re not the company you choose.
That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the top 15 flatbed trucking companies to consider in 2025— so you can make the best, most informed logistics decisions for your company.
After breaking down some key facts about each company on the list, we’ll also provide some tips and tactics for choosing your best-fit carrier this year. Let’s get started!
ATS has a lot of experience talking with shippers about what they’re looking for in a flatbed trucking provider. Shippers not only want the right amount of capacity to keep up with their demands, but also need a company with the trailer variety to properly load, secure, and deliver their freight.
With that in mind, we compiled our list of the top 15 flatbed carriers based on a combination of criteria, prioritizing years of experience, capacity (both volume and variety), and revenue.
While revenue is just one piece of the greater picture, remember that transportation providers can’t achieve outstanding revenue without well-rounded freight diversification, consistently high-quality service, and an impressive overall customer experience.
It’s important to note that we’ve factored ourselves out of this list. We do this because our priority is providing you with the clear, unbiased information you need to make the best possible decision for your business.
Should you determine ATS isn’t the right fit for your needs, we’d feel confident referring you to any of our industry peers on this list. Each has a proven track record of success that makes them worth considering as you strive to improve your supply chain in 2025.
These companies are ordered by date founded, listed from oldest to newest.
To help you make the best decision for your business, we’ve included some relevant high-level information about each of these top-performing brokerages. You’ll find specific statistics attributed using the following system:
Melton Truck Lines has a fleet of flatbed and step-deck trailers which it uses to serve customers across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. A Quest for Quality award winner, Melton boasts industry-leading service levels and quality equipment.
Over its 70 years in business, CRST has established itself as a leader within various segments of the transportation industry, but flatbed transportation has always been its bread and butter. CRST was a 2024 Drive to Inspire honoree, denoting carriers with exemplary safety records.
In 2024, American flatbed carrier Daseke was acquired by Canadian transportation company TFI International for $1.1 billion. Daseke added about 4,900 tractors and 11,000 flatbed and specialized trailers to TFI’s truckload division. It joins TFI’s rapidly growing North American network; the company has made 136 acquisitions since 2008.
Acme Truck Line moves an average of 3,700 loads per week across the U.S., and into/out of Canada and Mexico. One of the smaller companies on this list, Acme serves nearly every industry in the U.S., but has a particularly significant presence in manufacturing, aerospace, and construction.
Roehl entered the transportation marketplace in 1962 with a single truck. Today, Roehl has more than 5,800 trailers and 2,000 trucks, which they leverage to offer full truckload transportation solutions across a variety of industries. Roehl also has a freight brokerage company, Roehl Logistics.
With a rich history in North America, Landstar has a diverse open-deck trailer fleet and consistently ranks among the largest transportation companies in the world. In 2024, Landstar had the second-highest annual revenue of all flatbed/heavy specialized carriers as categorized by TransportTopics, falling just behind Daseke Inc.
Serving all sections of the U.S. and part of Canada, Prime is known for its massive refrigerated transportation division, but it also operates a respectable fleet of open-deck trailers. One of the largest companies on this list, Prime generated more than $2.5 billion across all its business units in 2024.
Primarily a specialized open-deck provider, TMC prioritizes quality equipment and top-of-the-line service. The company also owns an asset-based logistics operation, TMC Logistics, which provides third-party logistics (3PL) services and brokerage.
***According to FreightWaves
Under parent company Trans-System, Inc., System Transport is the “largest flatbed carrier based in the western U.S.,” an accolade they've held for many years. System Transport has an average fleet age of 2.5 years and offers long-haul, regional, and dedicated transportation services.
The Bennett Family of Companies comprises more than 10 individual transportation businesses located across North America. Still operated by the family who started it in 1976, Bennett is a leader in the U.S. flatbed/open-deck trucking industry. Bennett also offers freight brokerage, warehousing, supply chain management, and freight forwarding services.
Widely known as a reliable flatbed company, Mercer has more than 2,000 trucks currently running across the U.S. Mercer's asset fleet handles more than 250,000 shipments each year. Mercer also operates a freight brokerage company.
Maverick is well known in the specialized open-deck space and has a long history in this market. Based out of Little Rock, Maverick has more than 1,600 trucks and a variety of trailer types including flatbeds, RGNs, and step-decks.
PGT Trucking, Inc. is the North American flatbed transportation arm of PGT Holdings. More than 40 years after its founding, PGT now operates a large fleet of open-deck and specialized trailing equipment.
Western Express has been on a growth path since it was founded in 1991. Today, Western Express operates a substantial fleet of dry van and flatbed trailers with an average fleet age of just 1.5 years. The company provides full-truckload solutions within the U.S.
PS Logistics is a transportation and logistics provider headquartered in Alabama that offers asset-trucking services as well as brokerage and 3PL solutions. According to their website, PS Logistics regularly cycles their equipment to maintain one of the newest fleets in the U.S.
The truth is, simply listing the top 15 flatbed trucking companies for you to consider in 2025 will only help you so much. Selecting the best trucking companies for your network is about more than picking the ones that have worked well for others. It’s important to make sure you’re matching your business’s unique needs to the capabilities of the flatbed providers you choose.
To do so, prioritize the following things in your selection process:
You need a transportation provider that has a long history of success not just in the industry, but in moving your commodity type.
Choosing a company with significant experience moving specialized flatbed commodities will help ensure your cargo is handled safely and in accordance with any special protocols or procedures.
Additionally, companies with a long tenure in the industry (think decades, not years) have proven they can withstand the ups and downs of the freight market — a reassuring notion in a time when the carrier marketplace can feel like a revolving door.
Approach prospective flatbed carriers prepared to ask about:
The way each prospective company answers will give you a better picture of the experience and expertise they’ll bring to your supply chain long-term.
With fleet sizes ranging from a single truck and trailer to thousands of assets, it’s crucial to work with companies that have the capacity to reliably meet your needs without issue.
But the capacity equation isn’t just a numbers game. The company’s areas of operation and core competencies are critical, too.
Every trucking company, regardless of how large it is, has specific areas of strength. These are the areas of the U.S. (and the world) where the vast majority of its drivers and customers reside.
Working outside of their regions of strength doesn’t make financial sense for flatbed trucking companies — nor does it make sense for you as their prospective customer.
Imagine you’re a manufacturing company with a largely Northeastern customer base. You select a flatbed carrier based on the fact that it owns 1,200 trucks and 4,500 open-deck trailers — but fail to consider that it operates primarily in the Southeast. Right out of the gate, that partnership is doomed.
Furthermore, no one company can be 100 percent successful at 100 percent of transportation services 100 percent of the time. The best flatbed carriers understand their capabilities and stick to their strongest suits.
If servicing your transportation needs would take a carrier away from their core competencies — for example, if your freight requires a specialized flatbed trailer type that the carrier has never worked with before — that may be cause for concern.
While some carriers are particularly skilled at finding creative, successful solutions for needs outside their strongest capabilities, you’ll need to thoroughly investigate their plan to address those gaps before committing to work with them.
Ultimately, we recommend doing the legwork to thoroughly understand each prospective carrier’s fleet size, areas of operation, and core competencies before handing over that first load.
Jagged edges, over-dimensional sizes, and high weights can make open-deck shipping particularly precarious. For this reason, flatbed trucking companies must prioritize safety at every turn.
The best carriers approach safety from the top down, cementing it in every area of their business. Highly-trained drivers, industry-leading securement tools (straps, chains, tarps, etc.), and well-maintained asset equipment (trailers, trucks) are three staples of carrier safety, but your carrier’s safety practices shouldn’t stop there.
Ask prospective carriers about:
The safest companies don’t shy away from questions like these. Choose a company that answers in a way that makes you feel comfortable.
As we progress further into the digital age, the technology available to trucking companies is likewise progressing.
When used well, technologies like GPS trailer tracking, electronic logging devices (ELDs), and customer experience software can help carriers manage customer shipments at the highest level.
Although incorporating these technologies into their practices is a significant investment for trucking companies, you’ll want to work with carriers that have committed to keeping their operations on the cutting edge, because it demonstrates a dedication to putting customer needs first.
Many new transportation industry technologies arise to meet an otherwise unmet need for shippers, like improved tracking capabilities or self-service booking.
But unworthy carriers don’t take these investment opportunities as they arise, opting instead to stay a well-worn course — even if their customers suffer.
Your business deserves a flatbed carrier that prioritizes and utilizes tech throughout its operations. Furthermore, you need a carrier with technological capabilities that match your needs and preferences. You don’t want to find yourself in need of load-tracking visibility that your provider can’t offer!
Ask each prospective carrier about their technology, including but not limited to:
The better you understand what you’re getting by working with each carrier, the better off you’ll be.
Related: The 5 Keys to Choosing a Flatbed Trucking Company For Your Business
If you’ve read this far, you clearly value quality shipper-carrier relationships — and know that selecting the wrong company can be detrimental on a number of levels.
Finding the right company may seem daunting, but now that you’re equipped with 15 flatbed trucking companies to consider and some tips for vetting them, you’re ready to start the process.
Beyond the basics of capacity and capabilities, you’ll want to prioritize proven experience and longevity in the industry, core strengths that match up well with your needs, rigorous safety practices, and technology usage that demonstrates an investment in customer care.
The carriers that check all these boxes are the ones that should rise to the top of your prospect list.
Speaking of checking boxes: As you begin connecting with carriers and getting a sense of their capabilities and strengths, consider downloading our Flatbed Carrier Selection Checklist.
It’s a free resource that provides a clear, comprehensive rubric for assessing each prospect and making the best possible decision for your business.