Estes

Estes Express Lines is a privately held freight carrier headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, founded in 1931. It is the largest privately owned LTL carrier in the United States, operating a network of over 300 terminals with more than 10,600 tractors and 42,000 trailers. Estes serves shippers of all sizes across a wide range of industries, from manufacturers and distributors to retailers and e-commerce businesses.

Estes offers a broad portfolio of transportation services. Its core business is less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping, with nearly 7,000 next-day lanes across all 50 states. Beyond standard LTL, the company provides volume LTL, full truckload, time-critical guaranteed service, and final-mile delivery to homes, businesses, and jobsites without docks. Estes also handles cross-border freight to and from Canada and Mexico, as well as offshore service to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean. Through its EFW affiliate, it offers global freight forwarding.

Shippers commonly turn to Estes for domestic LTL freight that requires broad geographic coverage and reliable transit times. The carrier is also frequently used for guaranteed and time-critical shipments, final-mile deliveries of heavy goods, and volume or truckload moves during peak shipping seasons.