How to Sell a Trucking Business: Step-by-Step and Considerations

Last Updated September 16, 2025

After growing a successful trucking business, many owners typically look to the next logical step: selling the company for a profit.

However, negotiating the sale of a trucking company can require as much coordination as managing the business, especially if you plan on marketing and selling your trucking business yourself.

In this guide, you’ll learn about the process of selling your transportation business, including how to value a trucking company like yours to ensure you receive the most return on your investment.

When Is the Right Time to Sell a Trucking Business?

If, or when, a trucking company should be sold is a common consideration for business owners as they expand and scale.

Owners may have several reasons they wish to sell their trucking businesses, including the following:

• A desire to switch careers
• Health concerns
• Significant life changes
• Debt management
• Retirement

Regardless of any personal motivation to get out of the trucking industry, strategically positioning your company can help improve your cash flow and enhance the valuation of your trucking business. After all, the best time to sell a trucking business is when it’s the most profitable and can no longer expand to meet the industry’s needs.

Additionally, favorable economic conditions and existing offers from competitors or investors can also signal the optimal time to sell your trucking company. Lower interest rates and more favorable loan terms often spur buyers into action. However, before you follow up on inquiries about the sale of your trucking business, read on to explore and prepare your company for what lies ahead.

If poor cash flow is the motivation behind selling, freight factoring can help you explore all trucking financing options available to you before you put your business up for sale. It’s imperative you’ve explored all avenues toward improving trucking cash flow.

How to Sell a Trucking Business

Selling your transportation business typically takes anywhere from six months to a year or more, so plan accordingly. Follow these steps to sell a transportation business when the time is right for you. If you’re unsure how to value your trucking company, stay tuned for an in-depth look at two popular methods.

1. Decide Whether You Will Manage the Sale Yourself or With an M&A Firm

Trucking company owners often choose to either handle the sale themselves or hire a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) firm to manage the transition. The right decision for you depends on the complexity of your trucking business and how hands-on you prefer to be throughout the process. Both avenues offer advantages and disadvantages worth considering.

For example, if you prefer to supervise the sale of your own trucking company, you save the commission fee you would otherwise pay the M&A firm. Spearheading the process yourself is easiest if you have a small business or have strong knowledge of valuing, marketing, and selling transportation companies. However, those with little experience or who feel overwhelmed by the legalities of such deals may seek the help of an M&A firm.

While their commission fees can eat into your profits, M&A companies handle the majority of the process of selling your transportation business. In the hands of an M&A firm, trucking companies typically gain greater exposure to qualified buyers and benefit from a lower risk of legal issues. The complexities of larger trucking businesses often lend themselves to a higher chance of success with an M&A firm.

2. Increase the Company’s Market Appeal

Identifying areas where your trucking company can improve its value can enable you to increase your asking price, without the prerequisite of funneling money back into a business you plan to sell.

For example, addressing any outstanding maintenance issues and ensuring your equipment is in good operating condition can help check several boxes for prospective buyers. You can also try these methods to increase your transportation company’s market appeal:

• Retain key staff members to ensure business continuity
• Negotiate better freight rates
• Reduce debt to demonstrate financial stability
• Streamline operations to increase efficiency

In reviewing your trucking company’s appeal, highlight any contracts, vendor relationships, or niche expertise that sets it apart from the competition. These elements often become major selling points that you or an M&A firm can leverage to attract buyers.

3. Organize Vital Financial and Legal Documentation

One of the most important steps in learning how to sell a trucking company is compiling all critical financial and legal documents. It’s common to gather these materials in a well-organized binder or digital file that can be easily shared with prospective buyers. Key documents typically include regulatory identifiers, financial statements, and information outlining the company’s structure and operations.

A trucking company’s Department of Transportation (DOT) and motor carrier (MC) numbers are the most important regulatory identifiers to consider when selling a trucking company.

Your DOT cannot be transferred or sold. However, your MC number can transfer to the new owner, though it must be updated if the ownership change involves transporting different types of goods.

Buyers usually focus heavily on financial statements, which typically cover the prior three years. Essential financial documents include:

• Income statements
• Tax returns
• Balance sheets
• EBITDA breakdown
• Credit statements
• Cash flow reports

In addition, buyers may request proof of your company’s legal structure, insurance, licenses, permits, and certifications. Make sure to list physical assets with their corresponding valuations and include any relevant partnership agreements, contracts, or privacy agreements. Organizing these documents clearly not only builds buyer confidence but also helps the sales process move smoothly.

4. Market Your Trucking Company

Market your trucking company by emphasizing what matters most to potential buyers: financial stability and growth. Advertise through online marketplaces, trade groups, word of mouth, industry networks, and direct outreach. Consider requiring interested buyers to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) to view sensitive financial documents.

5. Negotiate and Complete the Sale

When you’ve found a qualified buyer, the final stage involves negotiating and closing the deal. As you address any concerns they may raise, maintain clarity in specifics such as the purchase price, payment structure, and any transition support you wish to offer. Once you and the buyer have finalized any agreements, complete the necessary legal steps to transfer ownership and conclude the process.

How to Value a Trucking Company

Once you’ve become more familiar with how to sell a trucking business, the next question is often, “How much can I sell my trucking company for?”

Revenue and profit history certainly offer a place to start. However, the full answer varies, depending on several critical aspects of your trucking business, including:

• Prevailing market conditions
• Brand recognition and growth potential
• Business location and geographical coverage
• Existing and anticipated contracts and vendor relationships
• Driver retention and workforce stability
• Fleet size, age, and condition
• Licensing, permits, and compliance records
• Liabilities and debt obligations

You might begin to tally up the total cost of starting a trucking company in today’s economy to see what a buyer would be saving by buying an existing business. Alternatively, you might seek out numbers for transportation businesses similar to your own, if the data is even available.

However, some of the most widely used and accepted trucking company valuation guidelines focus instead on demonstrated and forecasted profitability.

When determining how to value a trucking company, most owners and M&A firms typically leverage either earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) multiples or the discounted cash flow method. Of the two trucking company valuation methods, EBITDA multiples are preferable because they use real-world data. In contrast, a trucking business valuation based on discounted cash flow relies solely on estimates.

Using EBITDA Multiples for Trucking Company Valuation

A trucking company’s EBITDA, combined with the industry standard multiple, helps determine its value. EBITDA multiples for trucking companies typically range from 3x to 6x. So if a trucking business’s EBITDA is $3 million, an EBITDA multiple of 5x would result in a valuation of $15 million.

Trucking company valuation multiples reflect market conditions, risk, growth potential, and industry standards. Higher EBITDA multiples indicate reduced risk and increased growth potential, evident in well-maintained fleets, efficient operations, a strong reputation, and minimal liabilities. Essentially, the more attractive the trucking business looks to buyers, the greater the multiple owners can use to value their trucking company.

Discounted Cash Flow Valuation

The discounted cash flow method values your trucking business based on the profits it’s expected to turn in the future. After estimating annual cash flows across a specific time period—typically the next five to 10 years—apply a discount rate to adjust for the present value of your company. Within the trucking industry, discount rates often range from 10% to 15%.

In-Summary: Considerations When Selling a Trucking Business

The decision to sell your trucking company may be a difficult one, but the process doesn’t have to be if you know what to expect. With the right tools and information at your disposal, you can not only determine a fair price for your trucking business but also take the proper legal and financial steps moving forward when you receive an offer. Taking steps to increase your company’s appeal will put you in a strong position to negotiate rates and close the sale.

Michael McCareins

Michael McCareins is the Content Marketing Associate at altLINE, where he is dedicated to creating and managing optimal content for readers. Following a brief career in media relations, Michael has discovered a passion for content marketing through developing unique, informative content to help audiences better understand ideas and topics such as invoice factoring and A/R financing.