Truck dispatch in Memphis, TN

Memphis road weather right now

Freight in Memphis

The Memphis metro has about 38,600 manufacturing jobs and 190,300 in trade, transportation and utilities (BLS, August 2026, preliminary). That's a distribution market first: parcel, retail and e-commerce freight flows through the airport, the rail ramps and the river port.

TDOT says Shelby County leads Tennessee in intermodal traffic, with about 12 million tons of truck drayage each way to and from rail ramps and the river port (2016 data). The Port of Memphis, on the Mississippi 600 miles above New Orleans, handles grain, fuels, chemicals, metals and aggregates, and the Valero refinery on Presidents Island makes gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

Major shippers and freight hubs

Listed for context from official sources. Fleetorica isn't affiliated with these companies or agencies, and we don't claim them as customers.

Main routes and truck traffic

The highways most loads in and out of Memphis run on: I-40, I-55, I-240, I-269, US 78, US 51, US 61, US 72, SR 385.

I-40 runs east to Nashville and west across the Hernando de Soto Bridge into Arkansas toward Little Rock and Dallas. I-55 crosses the river south of downtown and runs north to St. Louis and south to Jackson and New Orleans. US 78 heads southeast toward Birmingham, and I-269 is the outer loop on the east side.

TDOT's 2023 freight plan names I-240 between I-40 and SR 385 the busiest segment in the state, with about 206,000 vehicles and 16,500 trucks a day (2021). The same plan lists the eastern I-40/I-240 interchange and I-55 northbound in Shelby County among the state's truck bottlenecks, and flags height-restricted bridges on I-55 northbound in Shelby County as a cause of delay.

Lane planner: what a load out of Memphis 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 Memphis

About two out of three for-hire carriers based in Memphis 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 is big because FedEx Express registers its national fleet in Memphis: 138,481 of those trucks are theirs.

Largest for-hire carriers based in Memphis

By trucks reported to FMCSA, from the Company Census File for companies with a physical address in Memphis, TN, as of October 6, 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 75% of I-40 facilities used at 75% or more. Source

Weigh stations

There's no permanent weigh station in Shelby County. The nearest Tennessee Highway Patrol scale complex is in Haywood County on I-40 at mile marker 50, near Brownsville, about 50 miles northeast of downtown Memphis. Source

The Patrol's other scale complexes are on I-24 in Coffee County, I-65 in Giles and Robertson counties, I-81 in Greene County and I-40 in Knox County. Source

Freight calendar for Memphis and Tennessee

When freight picks up in and around Memphis. Distribution freight runs all year; bars show the months for crops, and each line links its official source.

What we book, by truck type

Dry van

Distribution centers, retail and e-commerce freight keep dry vans moving all year. Memphis is a strong outbound market, so we can usually reload you quickly after a delivery.

Reefer

Food distribution and grocery freight move through Memphis warehouses. We plan reloads so the unit isn't running empty back across I-40.

Flatbed

Steel, metals, building materials and machinery move through the river port and the area's plants. We check securement and tarp needs before we book.

Power only

Memphis has plenty of preloaded trailer and drop-and-hook freight from warehouses and rail ramps, which suits power only units.

Box truck

Local and regional distribution around Memphis and into Mississippi and Arkansas works well for 26-foot box trucks.

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
• Two intermodal ramps sit across the river in Marion, Arkansas (Union Pacific and BNSF Harvard), so we plan the bridge crossing and appointment times together
• We plan around the I-240 and I-40/I-240 bottlenecks and check bridge clearances on I-55 northbound in Shelby County
• 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

Chattanooga · Knoxville · Nashville

Questions carriers ask