CHARLOTTE, N.C. — CarriersEdge is announcing its 2025 Best Fleets to Drive For overall winners.
The announcement comes as part of the Best Fleets to Drive For Education & Awards Conference held at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in North Carolina. The Best Fleets to Drive For program, now in its 17th year, is an annual survey and contest that identifies the for-hire carriers providing the best workplace experiences for their company drivers and independent contractors.
Best Overall Fleet Small Carrier
K&J Trucking Inc. of Sioux Falls, S.D was named Best Overall Fleet in the small carrier category.
A four-time Best Fleets to Drive For Top 20 carrier, K&J Trucking was also the overall winner in 2024, becoming the first contractor fleet to win back-to-back trophies since the small and large carrier categories were created 11 years ago. This award is sponsored by TruckRight.
Best Overall Fleet Large Carrier
The Best Overall Fleet in the large carrier category was presented to Decker Truck Line Inc. of Fort Dodge, Iowa. This is the first time the company has won a Best Overall Fleet award and the fourth year making the Top 20. The award is sponsored by Netradyne.
“K&J Trucking and Decker Truck Line rose to the top by continuing to elevate their workplace cultures and driver programs in the face of tough freight conditions,” said Jane Jazrawy, CEO, CarriersEdge. “K&J Trucking, whose fleet is comprised mostly of independent contractors, continues to buck the industry perception that contractor fleets can’t offer an industry-best workplace for drivers. And, since first cracking the Top 20 Best Fleets to Drive For list in 2022, Decker Truck Line has continued to improve its programs year after year while also maintaining strong safety and driver satisfaction numbers.”
Garner Trucking Inc. Named Stratosphere Award Winner
At the conference, CarriersEdge also presented The Stratosphere Award, which recognizes the top-scoring fleet in the Best Fleets Hall of Fame. This year’s award, sponsored by EpicVue, went to Garner Trucking Inc. of Findlay, Ohio.
To be eligible for the Hall of Fame, fleets must be named as a Best Fleet for 10 consecutive years, or seven years with at least one overall winner award. Fleets in the Hall of Fame must re-qualify each year to retain the distinction.
“Members of the Best Fleets Hall of Fame continue to innovate and raise the bar for the industry,” Jazrawy said. “Garner has taken that even further, and their exceptional programs and driver satisfaction set a new standard of excellence for the industry.”
Qualifications
To be considered for the Best Fleets program, for-hire carriers operating 10 or more tractor-trailers must be nominated by a company driver or independent contractor working with them. Nominated fleets are then evaluated in areas such as driver compensation, pension and benefits, professional development, driver and community support and safety record.
The highest-scoring fleets are identified as the Top 20 Best Fleets to Drive For and then grouped according to size. The highest-scoring fleet in each size category is named an overall winner.
The Best Fleets to Drive For contest accepts nominations from Labor Day to Halloween each year and reveals its Top 20 Best Fleets to Drive For winners each January. The highest-scoring fleet in each size category and top-scoring Hall of Fame member are named overall winners during the Best Fleets to Drive For Education & Awards Conference.
For additional information on the Best Fleets to Drive For program, follow the hashtag #BestFleets25 on social media or visit www.bestfleetstodrivefor.com.
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
