Buying a trucking company in Florida

Trucking companies haul freight for a fee. Small Florida carriers do many kinds of work: dump trucks hauling fill and rock for site work, flatbeds for building materials, refrigerated trucks for produce and seafood, dry vans for retail and grocery freight, car haulers, household movers, and short container hauls (drayage) between the ports in Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami and Port Everglades and nearby warehouses.

Revenue comes from per-load or per-mile rates, plus fuel surcharges and fees for waiting or extra stops. Some carriers work directly for shippers, which tends to pay better and more steadily. Others get most loads from freight brokers or online load boards, where rates swing with the market. Dedicated contracts, where a carrier runs regular routes for one customer, bring stable work but tie the company to that customer.

You'd be buying tractors, trailers, a yard and shop, and the company's operating authority and safety record. The team is drivers (employees, or owner-operators who lease their own trucks to the carrier), dispatchers, a safety manager and mechanics. Fuel, driver pay, insurance and repairs take most of every dollar of revenue.

• Direct shipper customers with years of history, not only brokered loads that can vanish when rates fall.
• A clean safety record: few crashes, good roadside inspection results, and no conditional or unsatisfactory rating from FMCSA, the federal safety regulator.
• A maintained fleet with documented service records and a sensible replacement schedule.
• Drivers who stay, because pay, equipment and home time are good. Turnover is one of the biggest hidden costs in trucking.
• Insurance at a reasonable premium, backed by a clean claims history.
• A safety manager and dispatcher who run daily operations without the owner.
• Costs tracked per truck and per mile, so the owner knows which routes and customers make money.
• Freight both into and out of Florida, so trucks don't run long distances empty.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulates most of trucking. Interstate carriers need a USDOT number, and for-hire carriers crossing state lines also need operating authority (an MC number), insurance filings and a yearly Unified Carrier Registration. For-hire interstate carriers of general freight in trucks of 10,001 pounds or more must carry at least $750,000 in liability coverage (49 CFR 387.9).

Florida applies most federal safety rules to trucks of 26,001 pounds or more that run only within the state (section 316.302), and the Highway Patrol says these in-state carriers need a USDOT number too. Interstate fleets based here handle apportioned plates and fuel tax (IRP and IFTA) through the state motor vehicle department (FLHSMV). Household movers need a registration from FDACS (the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services) for moves within Florida, and it can't be assigned (section 507.03).

What transfers depends on how you buy. A USDOT number stays with the legal entity that holds it. If you buy the company, the number and safety record come with it; if you buy the assets, your company needs its own. Operating authority can move to a buyer through FMCSA's transfer process, filed at least 10 days before closing (49 CFR 365.405T). FMCSA moved registration to a new system, Motus, in 2026, so confirm the current steps.

• FMCSA safety data: inspection results, crash history, out-of-service rates and any audit or investigation findings.
• Driver files, drug and alcohol testing records and hours-of-service logs.
• Insurance quotes for you as the new owner before you commit. Premiums can jump with a change of ownership or a new USDOT number.
• Each truck's age, mileage, maintenance records and what's owed on it.
• How much depends on the biggest customers, brokered versus direct revenue, and rates per mile on each route.
• Owner-operator agreements, and whether those drivers are properly treated as contractors.
• Open claims, cargo damage claims and lawsuits, including any from crashes.
• For household movers, complaints filed with FDACS, and whether estimates and contracts follow Florida's moving law (chapter 507).
• Data from tracking devices and dash cameras, if the fleet has them, which shows how the trucks are actually driven.

• What share of revenue comes from direct shippers, and how long have they worked with you?
• How long do your drivers usually stay, and how do you find new ones?
• How has your insurance cost changed over the last three years?
• Have you had any serious crashes, audits or FMCSA investigations?
• How do you find loads leaving Florida?
• Who handles safety compliance and dispatch today?
• When does each truck need replacing?