Truck dispatch in Joliet, IL

Joliet road weather right now

Freight in Joliet

Joliet sits southwest of Chicago, where I-80, one of the country's three coast-to-coast interstates, crosses I-55 between Chicago and St. Louis. IDOT says I-80 through Joliet and Will County carries about 80,000 vehicles a day, about 25% of them trucks, with heavy congestion and a lot of merging and weaving. IDOT is rebuilding about 16 miles of I-80 from Ridge Road to US 30, including more than 30 bridges. Its 2023 freight plan ranks Will County second in Illinois by freight value, about $188 billion in 2019, and calls the Will County intermodal facilities the busiest and fastest growing in the Midwest.

The freight comes from the rail ramps and the warehouses around them. CenterPoint Intermodal Center Joliet opened in 2010 on 3,600 acres, with Union Pacific's 785-acre Joliet Intermodal Terminal (Global 4), and joins CenterPoint's Elwood park, home to BNSF's Logistics Park Chicago, for 6,400 acres in all. Global 4 also has a grain transload where soybeans and DDGs arriving by truck go into marine containers for West Coast ports. Amazon announced two Joliet fulfillment centers in 2015 and 2016, and ExxonMobil's Joliet refinery in Channahon Township processes 275,000 barrels of crude a day and ships asphalt and petroleum coke by truck, barge and rail.

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. Plant details come from pages dated in the sources and may have changed since.

Main routes and truck traffic

The highways most loads in and out of Joliet run on: I-80, I-55, I-355, US 30, US 52, IL 53, IL 7, US 6.

I-80 runs east through New Lenox toward Indiana and west through Minooka toward the Quad Cities and Des Moines. I-55 crosses it on the west side of town, running north to Chicago and south to Bloomington and St. Louis. I-355, a toll road, starts at I-80 in New Lenox and runs north to the western suburbs. IL 53 runs south from Joliet toward Elwood, and US 30, US 52 and US 6 serve the city's industrial areas.

Truck parking is the weak spot. IDOT's freight plan names I-80 south of Chicago, from I-55 to I-57, among the Illinois stretches short of truck parking, and IDOT says public sites give only about 15% of the state's truck spaces and that its rest area truck spaces average 94% full. The I-80 rebuild means lane shifts and closures between Ridge Road and US 30, so we check Getting Around Illinois before you roll.

Lane planner: what a load out of Joliet 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 Joliet

About half of the for-hire carriers based in Joliet 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 a large school bus fleet, about three in ten of the total.

Largest for-hire carriers based in Joliet

By trucks reported to FMCSA, from the Company Census File for companies with a physical address in Joliet, IL, as of October 31, 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

These are the closest IDOT rest areas to Joliet that allow semis, as listed on the Chicago page from IDOT's rest area map (October 2026). IDOT doesn't publish a truck space count for each site. It says public sites provide only about 15% of Illinois truck parking and that rest area truck spaces average 94% full. Source

IDOT's 2023 freight plan (updated 2024) names I-80 south of Chicago, from I-55 to I-57, as a stretch short of truck parking. That is the stretch through Joliet and New Lenox. Source

Weigh stations

IDOT lists fixed weigh stations at Frankfort on I-80 (both directions, near US 45, east of Joliet) and Bolingbrook on I-55 (both directions, mile 265, north of Joliet). Peotone on I-57 is farther east. IDOT maintains the stations and Illinois State Police staff them. IDOT doesn't publish their hours. Source

Drivewyze reports PreClear bypass coverage at Frankfort (I-80 eastbound and westbound), Bolingbrook (I-55 northbound and southbound) and Peotone (I-57 both directions). Source

Freight calendar for Joliet and Illinois

When freight picks up in and around Joliet. Bars show the months; each line links its official source. Crop lines are Illinois statewide.

What we book, by truck type

Dry van

Warehouses in the Joliet and Elwood parks ship retail, e-commerce and import freight in every direction. We look for the reload close to Will County so you're not deadheading back from Chicago.

Power only

The rail ramps and the distribution centers around them put a lot of preloaded trailers and containers on the market. We confirm the trailer, the pickup number and the ramp rules before you go.

Reefer

Grocery and food distribution around Chicago's south and west suburbs keeps reefers moving. We confirm the temperature, the pulp and the appointment before we book.

Flatbed

Refinery and plant work, construction materials and machinery move on flatbeds and step decks. We check securement, tarps and any oversize permit before you go.

Tanker

The ExxonMobil refinery and fuel terminals in the area ship liquid bulk. Tank loads need a tank endorsement and fuel loads need hazmat too, so we only book what your CDL and authority cover.

How we dispatch here

• We lock in your overnight stop before you roll, because IDOT lists I-80 from I-55 to I-57 among the Illinois stretches short of truck parking
• We check the I-80 rebuild between Ridge Road and US 30 on Getting Around Illinois before setting appointment times
• For rail ramp loads we confirm the ramp, the container or trailer number and the gate rules first; Union Pacific's Global 4 gate runs 24 hours, 7 days a week
• We count I-355 and other tollway costs as a trip cost before booking, so a good-looking rate doesn't turn into a bad load
• Interstate carriers don't need anything extra from Illinois. For-hire loads that stay inside Illinois need an ICC Public Carrier Certificate

State rules, permits and taxes are on our Illinois 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 Illinois

Chicago

Questions carriers ask