Truck dispatch in Mobile, AL

Mobile road weather right now

Freight in Mobile

The Port of Mobile is Alabama's only seaport. Its container terminal, run by APM Terminals since 2008, has a 50-foot draft, four super post-Panamax and two post-Panamax cranes, 325 reefer plugs and an on-dock rail yard that moves containers from ship to rail within one business day. It handles more than 500,000 TEUs a year, and a fourth expansion phase started in October 2024 aims to double capacity to over a million. The port has direct access to five Class I railroads; the Port Authority says containers reach Chicago in three days, and its Montgomery rail yard is set to open in 2027.

Bulk and breakbulk matter just as much. The McDuffie Coal Terminal can handle 30 million tons a year, the Port Authority calls Mobile the nation's second-largest steel port, with an import slab terminal and a coil terminal, and the AutoMobile International Terminal can process 150,000 vehicles a year. There are 2.4 million square feet of rail-served covered warehouses for forest products, pulp and steel. Around the bay, the Mobile Chamber's 2025 lists put Austal USA (shipbuilding, 3,500+ workers), Airbus (aircraft assembly, 2,000+), AM/NS Calvert (carbon steel, 1,800+) and Outokumpu (stainless steel, 1,000+) at the top of the area's manufacturers, and Walmart's import distribution center employs more than 1,185.

Major shippers and freight hubs

Listed for context from official sources. Fleetorica isn't affiliated with these companies, and we don't claim them as customers. Employer ranks and counts are from the Mobile Chamber's May 2025 lists.

Main routes and truck traffic

The highways most loads in and out of Mobile run on: I-10, I-65, I-165, US 43, US 45, US 90, US 98.

I-10 runs west to Mississippi and New Orleans and east across Mobile Bay on the Bayway, through the river tunnels downtown, to Pensacola. I-65 starts at I-10 west of downtown and heads north to Montgomery and Birmingham. US 43 runs north along the river, and US 98 heads northwest to Mississippi. ALDOT notes that inside Mobile, US 98 is the only road that runs parallel to I-10, so a crash or closure on I-10 has few detours.

ALDOT's 2022 freight plan, using FHWA truck-delay data, ranks I-10 in Mobile as Alabama's worst truck bottleneck, and lists the I-10 stretch from Old Spanish Trail to I-65 at No. 7. The regional plan flags I-10 bottlenecks at the I-65 interchange, at SR 181 in Baldwin County and on the Bayway where it meets the tunnels.

Lane planner: what a load out of Mobile really pays

Pick a lane, type the broker's offer, and see your miles, driving time, fuel and what's left after dispatch.

Miles are estimates (straight-line distance × 1.13). Check your truck GPS before you accept a load. Driving days assume the 11-hour driving limit.

Who hauls out of Mobile

Nearly two out of three for-hire carriers based in Mobile run a single truck or less. That's who we work for: owner-operators and small fleets who want a dispatcher handling the load boards, broker calls and paperwork. The truck count above also includes private industrial and service fleets.

Largest for-hire carriers based in Mobile

By trucks reported to FMCSA, from the Company Census File for companies with a physical address in Mobile, AL, as of October 10, 2026. Listed for reference only; Fleetorica isn't affiliated with these companies. Check any carrier or broker with our carrier and broker lookup.

Truck parking and weigh stations

Alabama locations are from ALDOT's rest area list. ALDOT doesn't publish exact truck space counts; the ranges come from the public truck parking map in its 2022 statewide freight plan (published June 2023), which says Grand Bay has the most truck spaces of any Alabama rest area. The Pensacola count is from FDOT's weigh station list. Source

ALDOT's 2022 model shows truck parking demand going unmet on I-10 westbound between US 98/Old Spanish Trail and I-65, and expects demand on I-65 northbound from Creola to Evergreen to double by 2050. It also notes clusters of private truck stops west of Mobile along I-10, and the South Alabama Logistics Park near I-10 and I-65 with more than 1,000 truck parking spaces for its tenants. Source

Weigh stations

We couldn't find an official list of Alabama's fixed weigh stations from ALEA or ALDOT. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency's Motor Carrier Safety Unit does roadside inspections statewide; it inspected 50,760 commercial vehicles in fiscal year 2023. Source

The nearest station on an official list is FDOT's Pensacola weigh station on I-10 at mile 4, about 3.4 miles east of the Alabama line, with weigh-in-motion and a truck comfort station for both directions. Florida also runs agricultural inspection stations for trucks entering the state. Source

Freight calendar for Mobile and Alabama

When freight picks up in and around Mobile. Bars show the months; each line links its official source.

What we book, by truck type

Dry van

Import containers, Walmart's import distribution center and warehouse freight keep dry vans moving. We look for reloads near Mobile so you're not deadheading out to New Orleans or Pensacola.

Reefer

The container terminal has 325 reefer plugs for refrigerated imports and exports. We confirm the temperature, the container release and the appointment before we book.

Flatbed

Steel slabs and coils, pipe, forest products and project cargo make Mobile a strong flatbed market. We check securement, coil racks and permits before we book.

Power only

Port terminals and warehouses put preloaded trailers and containers on the market. We confirm the trailer, pickup number and gate rules before you go.

Box truck

Retail and parcel distribution across Mobile and Baldwin counties means steady box truck work, including final-mile deliveries.

How we dispatch here

• ALDOT ranks I-10 in Mobile as the state's worst truck bottleneck, so we time pickups and deliveries around the I-65 interchange and the Bayway at rush hour
• ALDOT finds truck parking short on I-10 westbound between US 98/Old Spanish Trail and I-65, so we lock in your overnight stop before you roll
• Before a port load, we confirm the terminal's gate rules and your TWIC card; the Port Authority runs a TWIC escort process for anyone without one
• When a hurricane nears, the Coast Guard can set Port Condition ZULU, closing the port to ships and stopping cargo handling, so we hold port loads and watch the Port Authority's updates
• Interstate carriers only need their USDOT number and MC. For-hire loads that stay inside Alabama need a certificate from the Alabama Public Service Commission

State rules, permits and taxes are on our Alabama dispatch page.

Pricing

a percentage of the load's gross, quoted for your truck and lanes, charged only on loads we book. No contract, and your first load is free.

Other cities we cover in Alabama

Birmingham

Questions carriers ask