General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, Truckload
Description
This U.S. industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing long-distance general freight truckload (TL) trucking. These long-distance general freight truckload carrier establishments provide full truck movement of freight from origin to destination. The shipment of freight on a truck is characterized as a full single load not combined with other shipments.
Hierarchy
| Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 48 | Transportation and Warehousing 2-digit sector | The Sector as a Whole The Transportation and Warehousing sector includes industries providing transportation of passengers and cargo, warehousing and storage for goods, scenic and sightseeing transportation, and support activities related to modes of transportation. Establishments in these industries use transportation equipment or transportation-related facilities as a productive asset. The type of equipment depends on the mode of transportation. The modes of transportation are air, rail, water, road, and pipeline. The Transportation and Warehousing sector distinguishes three basic types of activities: subsectors for each mode of transportation, a subsector for warehousing and storage, and a subsector for establishments providing support activities for transportation. In addition, there are subsectors for establishments that provide passenger transportation for scenic and sightseeing purposes, postal services, and courier services. A separate subsector for support activities is established in the sector because, first, support activities for transportation are inherently multimodal, such as freight transportation arrangement, or have multimodal aspects. Secondly, there are production process similarities among the support activity industries. One of the support activities identified in the Support Activities for Transportation subsector is the routine repair and maintenance of transportation equipment (e.g., aircraft at an airport, railroad rolling stock at a railroad terminal, or ships at a harbor or port facility). Such establishments do not perform complete overhauling or rebuilding of transportation equipment (i.e., periodic restoration of transportation equipment to original design specifications) or transportation equipment conversion (i.e., major modification to systems). An establishment that primarily performs factory (or shipyard) overhauls, rebuilding, or conversions of aircraft, railroad rolling stock, or ships is classified in Subsector 336, Transportation Equipment Manufacturing, according to the type of equipment. Many of the establishments in this sector often operate on networks, with physical facilities, labor forces, and equipment spread over an extensive geographic area. Warehousing establishments in this sector are distinguished from merchant wholesaling in that the warehouse establishments do not sell the goods. Excluded from this sector are establishments primarily engaged in providing travel agent, travel arrangement, and reservation services that support transportation establishments, hotels, other businesses, and government agencies. These establishments are classified in Sector 56, Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services. Establishments primarily engaged in providing rental and leasing of transportation equipment without operator are classified in Subsector 532, Rental and Leasing Services. Establishments primarily engaged in providing medical care with transportation are classified in Sector 62, Health Care and Social Assistance. |
| 484 | Truck Transportation 3-digit subsector | Industries in the Truck Transportation subsector provide over-the-road transportation of cargo using motor vehicles, such as trucks and tractor trailers. The subsector is subdivided into general freight trucking and specialized freight trucking. This distinction reflects differences in equipment used, type of load carried, scheduling, terminal, and other networking services. General freight transportation establishments handle a wide variety of general commodities, generally palletized, and transported in a container or van trailer. Specialized freight transportation is the transportation of cargo that, because of size, weight, shape, or other inherent characteristics, requires specialized equipment for transportation. Each of these industry groups is further subdivided based on distance traveled. Local trucking establishments primarily carry goods within a single metropolitan area and its adjacent nonurban areas. Long-distance trucking establishments carry goods between metropolitan areas. The Specialized Freight Trucking industry group includes a separate industry for Used Household and Office Goods Moving. The household and office goods movers are separated because of the substantial network of establishments that has developed to deal with local and long-distance moving and the associated storage. In this area, the same establishment provides both local and long-distance services, while other specialized freight establishments generally limit their services to either local or long-distance hauling. |
| 4841 | General Freight Trucking 4-digit industry group | This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing general freight trucking. General freight trucking establishments handle a wide variety of commodities, generally palletized, and transported in a container or van trailer. The establishments of this industry group provide a combination of the following network activities: local pick-up, local sorting and terminal operations, line-haul, destination sorting and terminal operations, and local delivery. |
| 48412 | General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance 5-digit NAICS industry | This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing long-distance general freight trucking. General freight trucking establishments handle a wide variety of commodities, generally palletized and transported in a container or van trailer. Long-distance general freight trucking establishments usually provide trucking between metropolitan areas which may cross North American country borders. Included in this industry are establishments operating as truckload (TL) or less than truckload (LTL) carriers. |
| 484121 | General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, Truckload 6-digit U.S. detail | This U.S. industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing long-distance general freight truckload (TL) trucking. These long-distance general freight truckload carrier establishments provide full truck movement of freight from origin to destination. The shipment of freight on a truck is characterized as a full single load not combined with other shipments. |
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Classification References
- 01Providing general freight long-distance, less than truckload trucking--are classified in U.S. Industry 484122, General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, Less Than Truckload;
- 02Providing specialized freight trucking--are classified in Industry Group 4842, Specialized Freight Trucking;
- 03Operating independent trucking terminals--are classified in Industry 488490, Other Support Activities for Road Transportation;
- 04Providing local general freight trucking services--are classified in Industry 484110, General Freight Trucking, Local; and
- 05Providing independent truck driving services (except owner-operators)--are classified in Industry 488490, Other Support Activities for Road Transportation.
Index Items
Bulk mail truck transportation, contract, long-distance (TL)
Container trucking services, long-distance (TL)
General freight trucking, long-distance, truckload (TL)
Motor freight carrier, general, long-distance, truckload (TL)
Trucking, general freight, long-distance, truckload (TL)
How Item Can Help
The TMS optimizes long-haul truckload routing to minimize fuel consumption and reduce delivery times across vast distances. It also provides real-time visibility into the fleet, allowing dispatchers to quickly reroute vehicles around traffic or delays.
The WMS ensures high-accuracy load planning by organizing goods to maximize space utilization within truck containers. This efficiency directly lowers shipping costs and reduces the likelihood of damage during transit.
Data Intelligence predicts demand fluctuations in remote markets to enable proactive freight booking and inventory positioning. By analyzing historical shipping patterns, it helps companies avoid costly last-mile delays and optimize their overall network design.
External Resources
Census.gov NAICS Detail
Official US Census Bureau definition and scope for NAICS 484121.
National Truck Loading and Transportation Association
A leading trade association providing resources, advocacy, and certification programs for the truckload freight industry.
United States Department of Transportation – Office of Freight Analysis
The official government portal offering data, statistics, and reports on domestic and international freight transportation.
FreightWaves
A premier industry news and directory site covering trends, regulations, and business profiles for long-distance trucking.
