Truck dispatch in Denver, CO

Denver road weather right now

Freight in Denver

Denver is where I-25, I-70 and I-76 meet, and it's the distribution center for Colorado and much of the Mountain West. CDOT counts 382 million tons of freight worth nearly $472 billion moving on Colorado's network in 2021, with trucks carrying 60% of it by weight. Inbound freight is nearly double outbound, by both weight and value, so we plan the reload out of Denver before you deliver.

Construction materials and food and agriculture make up about 60% of Colorado truck tonnage. CDOT calls I-25 the state's largest freight corridor by tonnage, linking plants in Weld and Adams counties north of Denver to Denver and Colorado Springs, and I-76 the key corridor for food and farm freight, linking the farms of northeast Colorado to Denver and Nebraska. The Molson Coors brewery in Golden, the largest single-site brewery in the world, ships more than 1,500 truckloads a week, and the can plant next to it makes over 4.5 billion cans a year. BNSF and Union Pacific both run intermodal terminals in Denver, and Leprino Foods, the cheese maker, has its global headquarters here.

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.

Main routes and truck traffic

The highways most loads in and out of Denver run on: I-25, I-70, I-76, I-270, I-225, US 85, US 36, US 6.

I-25 runs north to Fort Collins and Cheyenne and south to Colorado Springs, Pueblo and New Mexico. I-70 heads east across the plains to Limon and Kansas, and west into the Rockies over Floyd Hill, through the Eisenhower–Johnson Tunnel and over Vail Pass toward Grand Junction and Utah. I-76 goes northeast to Nebraska and I-80. I-270 links I-25 and I-70 to I-76 on the north side, and CDOT names US 85 and US 36 in Denver among the few non-interstate routes in Colorado with more than 2,500 trucks a day (2021).

CDOT says every Colorado interstate carries at least 1,000 trucks a day and most carry well over 2,500. West of Denver, the Eisenhower–Johnson Tunnel sits about 70 miles out at 11,000 feet, and winter weather closes the mountain corridor. In the 2024 winter season CDOT counted about 131 chain law activations in its I-70 study, and full closures caused by commercial vehicle crashes lasted about 3.7 hours on average. In CDOT's driver survey, I-70 west of Denver ranked as the hardest corridor in the state to find truck parking.

Lane planner: what a load out of Denver 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 Denver

Most for-hire carriers based in Denver are small: two out of three 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.

Largest for-hire carriers based in Denver

By trucks reported to FMCSA, from the Company Census File for companies with a physical address in Denver, CO, as of October 8, 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

There's no state rest area with truck parking in the Denver metro. CDOT's December 2025 study counts the big truck stops on I-70: TA at exit 266 (132 spaces), Sapp Bros at exit 278 (125), Flying J at exit 285 (160) and Love's at exit 304 in Bennett (205). Its Vail Pass and Dillon counts are from the same study, after the 2025 Vail Pass rest area rebuild. Source

Poudre, Wiggins and Arriba counts are from CDOT's 2019 Truck Parking Assessment. In its driver survey, the four interstate segments around Denver were the hardest in the state to find parking, and most drivers said parking is hard to find when I-25 or I-70 closes. Source

For the 2025–26 winter, CDOT partnered with the Denver Broncos to open an overflow lot for emergency truck parking during major storms. Source

Weigh stations

There's no port of entry inside Denver. Colorado's ports of entry double as its weigh stations, and the ones around the metro are Dumont on I-70 (exit 234, both directions), Platteville on US 85, Fort Collins on I-25 (mile 268), Monument on I-25 (mile 162), Limon on I-70 and Fort Morgan on I-76. Colorado has nine fixed ports and ten mobile units. Source

You must clear a port within five road miles of your route if your truck is over 26,000 lb GVWR, over 16,000 lb empty, has apportioned plates, or carries placarded hazmat without an annual Colorado permit. CDOT's guidebook says Colorado works with electronic bypass services such as PrePass and Drivewyze. Source

Freight calendar for Denver and Colorado

When freight and road rules change around Denver and Colorado. Bars show the months; each line links its official source.

What we book, by truck type

Dry van

Retail, e-commerce and beverage freight keep dry vans busy around Denver. Since more freight comes into Colorado than goes out, we line up the reload before you deliver so you're not deadheading out of the Front Range.

Reefer

Grocery distribution, dairy and northeast Colorado farm freight on I-76, plus Colorado peaches, melons and potatoes in season, give reefers work. We check temperatures and appointment times on every load.

Flatbed

Construction materials are the biggest truck freight in Colorado by weight, and I-25 carries most of it. We check securement, tarp needs and permits, and I-70 winter curfews for oversize loads, before we book.

Hotshot

Hotshots count under Colorado's commercial chain law too: a pickup pulling a trailer that meets the weight limit must carry 2 chains, or 4 for a dually. We confirm you have them before any mountain load.

Power only

Preloaded trailers at Denver warehouses and the rail intermodal terminals work well for power only units.

How we dispatch here

• From September through May we confirm you carry chains for 4 drive tires before any load on I-70 west of Morrison, and we check COtrip for chain law and closures before you roll
• Placarded loads get routed over Loveland Pass on US 6 (westbound exit 216, eastbound exit 205), since hazmat can't use the Eisenhower–Johnson Tunnel
• On I-70 in the mountains, trucks stay in the right lanes from September to May, and left lanes are off limits on Vail Pass (mile 180–190.5), at the tunnel (205.5–221) and on Floyd Hill (243–247)
• Trucks over 26,000 lb GVWR must clear a port of entry within five road miles of their route, so we plan the Dumont stop on I-70 west and the stops on I-25, I-76 and US 85 into your trip time
• There's no state rest area with truck parking in the Denver metro, so we plan your stop at the I-70 truck stops before you roll

State rules, permits and taxes are on our Colorado 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.

Questions carriers ask