Truck dispatch in Chattanooga, TN

Chattanooga road weather right now

Freight in Chattanooga

The Chattanooga Area Chamber's 2026 major employer list (employment at the end of 2025) puts Volkswagen's Chattanooga plant at 3,937 full-time workers and Roper Corporation, which makes cooking products, at 2,574. Astec Industries builds asphalt and concrete equipment (1,689), Amazon runs a distribution center (1,508), Pilgrim's Pride processes poultry (1,102) and Kenco Group runs third-party logistics (862). The list also includes Coca-Cola bottling, Mueller Co. valves and iron castings, Mars Wrigley candy, Komatsu construction equipment and auto suppliers like Gestamp. In nearby Collegedale, McKee Foods, the Little Debbie bakery, has about 2,912 workers, and Tennessee's commerce department counts about 15,000 transportation and warehousing jobs in Hamilton County.

TDOT's 2023 freight plan ranks the Port of Chattanooga the 113th busiest port in the U.S. in 2020, with two million tons, and says the Tennessee River between Nickajack and Chickamauga locks has the state's biggest cluster of barge terminals, handling aggregates, cement, scrap, asphalt, steel and farm and food products. Chattanooga Airport is Tennessee's fourth-largest air cargo airport, with FedEx flights to Memphis. Norfolk Southern runs DeButts Yard in the city, CSX also serves Hamilton County, and a Colonial Pipeline line feeds the city's fuel distribution hub.

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. Worker counts are self-reported to the Chattanooga Area Chamber (2026 list) or come from Tennessee ECD's Hamilton County profile.

Main routes and truck traffic

The highways most loads in and out of Chattanooga run on: I-75, I-24, US 27, US 41, US 64, US 74, US 127, SR 153.

I-75 runs north to Knoxville and south to Atlanta, and I-24 runs northwest to Nashville, climbing the Cumberland Plateau at Monteagle. The two meet on the east side of the city. US 27 heads north out of downtown toward Dayton (the stretch in the city is an unsigned I-124), SR 153 links I-75 with the airport and Hixson, and US 41 and US 64 run west toward Alabama.

TDOT's 2023 freight plan ranks I-75 northbound from the Georgia line to the I-24 interchange as Tennessee's No. 1 truck bottleneck, and lists three more in Hamilton County: I-24 westbound from I-75 to US 27 (No. 6), I-24 eastbound from East 23rd Street to I-75 (No. 12) and I-24 eastbound from the Georgia line to US 41/Cummings Highway (No. 21). ATRI's national list, cited in the plan, ranks I-75 at I-24 No. 10 in the U.S. and I-24 at US 27 No. 29. TDOT's 2025 counts show about 22,500 trucks a day on I-24 between US 27 and I-75 and about 19,000 on I-75 just north of the Georgia line.

Lane planner: what a load out of Chattanooga 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 Chattanooga

A little over half of the for-hire carriers based in Chattanooga 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 large fleets like U.S. Xpress and Covenant, plus private and utility fleets.

Largest for-hire carriers based in Chattanooga

By trucks reported to FMCSA, from the Company Census File for companies with a physical address in Chattanooga, TN, as of October 11, 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

TDOT's welcome center and rest area list says there's a two-hour parking limit and no overnight parking at any of them, so these are for short breaks only. Source

TDOT's 2023 freight plan estimates 8,345 truck parking spaces in Tennessee, 87% of them at private truck stops, and cites a University of Tennessee study finding formal truck parking about 90% full statewide, with demand above supply along the entire I-24 corridor. Source

In September 2026 TDOT finished a truck parking availability pilot at the I-40 welcome center in Smith County, with space counts shown on SmartWay, roadside signs and ELD alerts. TDOT says it will use the results to decide on technology for truck parking statewide. Source

Weigh stations

There's no Tennessee Highway Patrol scale complex in Hamilton County. The nearest is the Coffee County complex on I-24 westbound at mile marker 115, near Manchester, about 60 miles up I-24 from downtown. The Knox County complex is on I-40 at mile marker 372, west of Knoxville. Source

Drivewyze reports bypass coverage at Tennessee's fixed sites, including Manchester on I-24 westbound and Knox County on I-40 in both directions. Source

Freight calendar for Chattanooga and Tennessee

When freight picks up in and around Chattanooga. Plant, port and distribution freight runs all year; bars show the months for Tennessee crops, and each line links its official source.

What we book, by truck type

Dry van

Auto parts, appliances, snack foods and e-commerce distribution keep dry vans busy all year. We look for reloads close to Chattanooga so you're not deadheading to Atlanta or Nashville.

Reefer

Poultry processing, bakeries, candy and beverage plants ship temperature-controlled freight. We confirm the temperature and the appointment before we book.

Flatbed

Asphalt plants and construction equipment from Astec and Komatsu, steel tubing, iron castings and cement make this a steady flatbed market. We check securement, tarps and permits before we book.

Power only

Third-party logistics warehouses and big carrier yards around the city put preloaded trailers on the market. We confirm the trailer, the pickup number and the gate rules before you go.

Box truck

Retail, parcel and beverage distribution across Hamilton County means steady box truck work, including final-mile deliveries.

How we dispatch here

• Tennessee rest areas and welcome centers have a two-hour limit and no overnight parking, so we line up your 10-hour break at a truck stop before you roll
• We avoid tight appointments that put you through the I-75/I-24 interchange at rush hour, Tennessee's worst truck bottleneck
• On I-24 toward Nashville we plan for the Monteagle climb and descent, and check the weather before a winter run
• We confirm appointment times with the plants and distribution centers before we book
• Interstate carriers don't need Tennessee authority. For-hire loads that stay inside Tennessee need intrastate authority from the Department of Revenue

State rules, permits and taxes are on our Tennessee 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 Tennessee

Knoxville · Memphis · Nashville

Questions carriers ask