Truck dispatch in Fresno, CA

Fresno road weather right now

Freight in Fresno

Farms drive Fresno freight. California's agriculture department puts Fresno County second in the state at $8.59 billion of farm production in 2023, led by grapes, almonds, pistachios and cattle. The county grows 19% of California's almond value and 28% of its processing tomatoes, more than any other county, plus 16% of its grapes and 28% of its pistachios. Raisins are a Fresno specialty: the raisin industry says every U.S. raisin is grown within about 60 miles of the city, and Sun-Maid runs its 73-acre plant in Kingsburg, just south on SR 99.

Distribution is growing too. The City of Fresno's latest financial report lists Amazon as its No. 5 employer, with about 6,500 workers. And Fresno is a trucking town: FMCSA's census lists more than 4,600 for-hire carriers with a Fresno address, more than Los Angeles.

Major shippers and freight hubs

Listed for context from official sources. Fleetorica isn't affiliated with these companies or groups, and we don't claim them as customers. Crop shares are from CDFA's 2023 county figures.

Main routes and truck traffic

The highways most loads in and out of Fresno run on: SR 99, I-5, SR 41, SR 180, SR 168, SR 198.

SR 99 is Fresno's main truck route, north to Madera, Merced, Modesto, Stockton and Sacramento and south to Visalia and Bakersfield. I-5 runs down the west side of Fresno County toward the Bay Area and Los Angeles. SR 41 runs south toward Lemoore and north toward Yosemite, SR 180 crosses the city east to west, and SR 198 links SR 99 with I-5 near Coalinga.

Caltrans' 2024 counts show about 17,700 to 20,700 trucks a day on SR 99 through Fresno, 16% to 23% of all traffic, and about 17,800 at the Madera County line. On I-5 in western Fresno County, trucks are 27% to 34% of traffic, about 12,000 to 13,800 a day.

Lane planner: what a load out of Fresno 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 Fresno

About two out of three for-hire carriers based in Fresno run a single truck or less, and 711 got their USDOT number in the last 12 months. That's who we work for: owner-operators and small fleets who want a dispatcher handling the load boards, broker calls and paperwork. One FMCSA record reports 61 trucks and two drivers, an apparent filing error, so we left it out of the truck count.

Largest for-hire carriers based in Fresno

By trucks reported to FMCSA, from the Company Census File for companies with a physical address in Fresno, CA, as of October 7, 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

All three are in Caltrans' rest area data as of October 2026. Space counts are truck/bus spaces from Caltrans' 2011 rest area master plan, the latest per-site count Caltrans has published. Source

Caltrans' 2022 truck parking study counted about 488 trucks parked outside designated spots at the peak hour in its Central Valley district (District 6), and found a high concentration of truck parking citations in Fresno and Bakersfield. Source

The 2011 plan found the Coalinga-Avenal rest areas already short on parking and projected the two biggest future shortfalls of all 87 California rest areas there. Source

Weigh stations

There's no weigh station in Fresno County. The closest are Chowchilla River on SR 99 northbound, 3.5 miles north of the SR 233 junction in Merced County, and Santa Nella on I-5 (both directions) in Merced County. To the south, the Grapevine station on I-5 southbound near Lebec catches loads headed for Los Angeles. Source

Caltrans lists both PrePass and Drivewyze as weigh station bypass systems in California. Trucks without a bypass must pull into any open station. Source

Freight calendar for Fresno and California

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

What we book, by truck type

Reefer

Grapes, citrus and other produce move by reefer from late spring into winter. We check pickup windows, temps and pulp requirements, and your unit must be reported in CARB's ARBER system.

Dry van

Raisins, nuts, packaged food and Amazon freight ship in dry vans all year. Almonds ship all year after the fall harvest.

Flatbed

Farm equipment, irrigation pipe and building materials move across the valley. We check securement and tarp needs before we book.

Power only

Packing houses and distribution centers drop preloaded trailers in harvest season. We confirm the trailer meets California rules before you hook.

Box truck

Final-mile, grocery and restaurant deliveries across Fresno and Clovis keep 26-foot box trucks busy.

How we dispatch here

• Before your first California load we confirm a 2010 or newer engine, Clean Truck Check compliance and, for reefers, ARBER reporting
• Harvest loads change fast, so we confirm the pickup time with the shed the day before
• There's no rest area on SR 99 in Fresno County, so we line up your 10-hour break at a truck stop or the C.H. Warlow rest area south of town
• We plan transit at California's 55 mph truck limit and budget for the Grapevine on loads to Los Angeles
• Fresno has thousands of small carriers competing for the same freight, so we look past the first load on the board and plan the reload

State rules, permits and taxes are on our California 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 California

Los Angeles · Ontario · Sacramento · Stockton

Questions carriers ask