Selling a trucking or logistics company
Trucking companies are valued on revenue durability and safety, then adjusted heavily for fleet condition and driver retention. Contracted or dedicated freight is worth substantially more than spot exposure, and a poor safety record raises insurance cost enough to change what any buyer can pay.
Written and reviewed by Antoine Campbell. Last reviewed .
Revenue quality
| Revenue type | How buyers view it |
|---|---|
| Dedicated or contracted freight | Most durable; underwritten closest to face value |
| Regular customers without contracts | Durable in practice, discounted for transfer risk |
| Brokered or spot freight | Cyclical; underwritten conservatively |
| Owner-operator capacity | Asset-light but relationship-dependent and subject to classification rules |
Safety and insurance
Safety scores drive insurance pricing, and insurance is one of the largest controllable costs in the business. Buyers pull the public safety record and review the loss runs. A deteriorating record can make a profitable company unfinanceable, because the pro forma insurance cost consumes the margin.
Federal safety data is published by the FMCSA and any buyer will look at it before the first call ends.
Fleet and drivers
A cheap fleet is a deferred capital call. Buyers subtract it from the price whether or not the seller agrees with the number.
- Truck and trailer list with year, mileage, maintenance history and liens
- Remaining useful life and the near-term replacement schedule
- Driver count, tenure, turnover rate and pay structure
- Whether drivers are employees or owner-operators, and how that is documented
- Maintenance in-house versus outsourced, and the shop if owned
Diligence items specific to trucking
- FMCSA safety record and inspection history
- Insurance loss runs for at least three years
- Customer list with revenue concentration and contract terms
- Fleet schedule with liens and equipment financing terms
- Driver roster with tenure and qualification files
- Fuel cost and any surcharge mechanisms in customer agreements
What Maurant needs to evaluate this
- Three years of tax returns and current financials
- Revenue by customer with contract status
- Fleet list and equipment debt schedule
- Safety record and insurance loss runs
- Driver roster and turnover history
When Maurant is not the right buyer
- Carriers with a safety record that makes insurance uneconomic
- Companies with one customer representing most of the revenue and no contract
- Fleets requiring immediate wholesale replacement priced as if they do not
Questions owners ask
- Does my safety score really affect the price?
- Directly, through insurance cost. It is one of the first things underwritten.
- Is owner-operator capacity a problem?
- Not inherently, but classification and contracts must be documented properly.
- Do you buy the terminal and shop?
- Where owned, usually yes, on a separate financing leg.
Sources
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