Sell a Trucking Fleets business

Owner-operator trucking fleets businesses trade at 2.5x–4x SDE for typical $500K–$3M SDE ranges. At $3M+ EBITDA scale the same operators sell at 4.5x–7.5x EBITDA. Multiples in this category are ebitda-based and data-sourced from SJ Consulting Transportation M&A Report 2025 + IBBA Q4 2024. Where you land in the range is driven by growth trajectory, revenue mix, customer concentration, and management-team depth beyond the owner.

Knight-Swift (NYSE: KNX), Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ: WERN), Heartland Express (NASDAQ: HTLD), and PE platforms (Wind Point Partners, Solamere Capital) drive trucking consolidation. Active buyer archetypes in transportation include Regional carrier / 3PL, Transport PE, Family office. Which of these bids for your business depends on scale — sub-$1M SDE is typically individual or search-fund territory, $1-3M SDE opens up PE platforms and strategics, and $3M+ EBITDA gets full LMM buyer attention.

Regional trucking fleets with dedicated-lane customer contracts, driver-retention above industry median, and modern-average fleet age trade at premium — the dedicated-contract book is the durable revenue that strategic buyers actually price. Beyond the industry-specific factor, the universal drivers in transportation are dedicated route or contract-freight revenue (not spot-market dependent); fleet condition and telematics adoption; driver retention rate (vs industry-average 90%+ annual churn).

Trucking is highly freight-cycle exposed with volatile diesel and driver-wage costs; buyers scrutinize your cost-per-mile discipline and contract vs spot mix. Buyers in this category also standardly scrutinize freight-rate volatility (spot vs contract) and driver shortage and cdl retention. Addressing these in advance in a well-prepared CIM materially reduces retrade risk during diligence.

Typical transaction range for trucking fleets is $3.0M–$100M in annual revenue. Below that, buyer pool narrows to individual and small-search-fund. Above that, PE platforms and strategics dominate. NAICS code 484121 — buyers screen by NAICS in most deal sources.

From the day you engage a broker to close, expect 6–12 months for a well-prepared business in transportation. The prep work — financial cleanup, addbacks documentation, key-employee retention agreements, real estate lease sorting — is where 3-6 months of the timeline hides. Starting that early is what separates a full-multiple exit from a discounted one.