Truck dispatch in Tucson, AZ

Tucson road weather right now

Freight in Tucson

Tucson is where I-19 from the Nogales border crossing meets I-10, the main truck route between California, Phoenix and Texas. ADOT's freight plan calls Nogales Arizona's most important land port of entry, and BTS counted 408,584 trucks entering from Mexico there in 2025. ADOT's 2025 counts show about 21,300 trucks a day on I-10 between St. Mary's Road and Congress Street downtown, out of about 199,800 vehicles. Northwest in Marana, between Avra Valley and Twin Peaks roads, it's about 18,200 trucks out of 83,700 vehicles, and southeast toward Vail about 11,600 out of 45,600, a quarter of all traffic. Both directions are added together.

Local freight comes from distribution centers, a rail-served inland port, mines and plants. Amazon announced an 855,000 sq ft fulfillment center in Tucson in 2018, and TJX lists an 858,000 sq ft HomeGoods distribution center here. The Port of Tucson, which ADOT calls Arizona's only inland port, covers more than 700 acres next to I-10 and the Union Pacific main line, with over 13 miles of its own track, and UP runs a transload terminal in town. Raytheon is the largest manufacturing employer HUD lists for the metro, with about 9,600 workers, and Freeport-McMoRan's Sierrita copper and molybdenum mine, about 20 miles southwest, has a molybdenum packaging facility.

Major shippers and freight hubs

Listed for context from official sources and the companies' own pages. Fleetorica isn't affiliated with these companies, and we don't claim them as customers. Some details come from announcements or filings dated in the sources and may have changed since.

Main routes and truck traffic

The highways most loads in and out of Tucson run on: I-10, I-19, SR 77 (Oracle Road), SR 86 (Ajo Way), SR 210 (Aviation Parkway), Kino Parkway.

I-10 runs northwest through Marana and Casa Grande to Phoenix and Los Angeles, and southeast past Benson and Willcox to New Mexico, El Paso and Texas. I-19 starts at I-10 just south of downtown and runs to Nogales and the Mariposa crossing. SR 77 (Oracle Road) heads north toward Oro Valley, SR 86 (Ajo Way) runs west, and SR 210 (Aviation Parkway) and Kino Parkway connect downtown with the south and east sides and I-10.

ADOT's freight plan says key truck corridors in the Phoenix and Tucson urban areas have poor truck travel time reliability, so loads through town need extra time. Monsoon season, June 15 to September 30, brings dust storms that can close I-10. ADOT's advice: pull off as far as you can, turn off all lights and take your foot off the brake.

Lane planner: what a load out of Tucson 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 Tucson

About two in three for-hire carriers based in Tucson 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 utility and construction fleets.

Largest for-hire carriers based in Tucson

By trucks reported to FMCSA, from the Company Census File for companies with a physical address in Tucson, AZ, as of October 28, 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

Truck space counts are from ADOT's Statewide Rest Area Study (Working Paper 1, May 2022), counted in field reviews in March 2022, so they're about four and a half years old. Since January 2025, electronic signs and AZ511 show how many truck spaces are open at the Texas Canyon and San Simon rest areas. Source

ADOT's January 2024 truck parking plan found more trucks parked in undesignated spots on I-10 east of Tucson than in most areas it studied, and projects Texas Canyon may be 135 spaces short by 2032. It found only minor clusters near the Nogales port of entry. Source

Weigh stations

ADOT doesn't list a port of entry in Tucson. Arizona's ports check trucks at the state lines and the border. On Tucson routes, the Nogales (Mariposa) port at 1180 West State Port Drive handles trucks coming from Mexico, open weekdays 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. (summer hours from July 7, 2025 were listed as 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.). San Simon, on I-10 at mile 383.3 near the New Mexico line, is open weekdays 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Source

Hours change, and some ports open only on certain days. Check ADOT's list before a load that needs a permit. Source

Freight calendar for Tucson and Arizona

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

What we book, by truck type

Reefer

Produce from Mexico crosses at Nogales, with the vegetable season usually November through April and grapes from early May to mid-July. We line up reefer reloads out of Nogales and watch reefer settings in the summer heat.

Dry van

Amazon's fulfillment center and HomeGoods' distribution center ship from Tucson, and freight from Mexico moves north and east on I-10. We look for the next load before you deliver so you don't deadhead out of town.

Flatbed

Mining, construction and plant equipment keep flatbeds busy around Tucson. We check securement, tarps and any permit needs before we book.

Power only

Distribution centers and the Port of Tucson's intermodal and transload yard can put preloaded trailers on the market. We confirm the trailer, the pickup number and the gate hours before you go.

Box truck

A metro of about a million people means steady store and final-mile work for box trucks. We plan around monsoon storms and downtown traffic on I-10.

How we dispatch here

• For Nogales pickups, we confirm the load is cleared and allow for the ADOT port of entry's hours: weekdays 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• During monsoon season (June 15 to September 30) we watch dust storm warnings on AZ511 before you roll
• Heading east on I-10, we check the open-space signs for the Texas Canyon and San Simon rest areas, also posted on AZ511
• We allow extra time on I-10 through downtown Tucson, where ADOT counts about 200,000 vehicles a day
• During the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show in February, we allow extra time for traffic around the convention center

State rules, permits and taxes are on our Arizona 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 Arizona

Phoenix

Questions carriers ask