Truck dispatch in Burlington, VT

Burlington road weather right now

Freight in Burlington

Burlington is Vermont's largest city and sits on I-89, the state's main truck route between Boston and Montreal. VTrans told the Legislature in 2021 that I-89 through South Burlington and Burlington has the highest truck volumes in the state system, over 6,000 a day, and that trucks carried 84% of Vermont's 46 million tons of freight in 2018 (67% by value). VTrans' 2023 counts show 53,491 vehicles a day on I-89 between Exit 14 (US 2) and Exit 15 (Winooski), the busiest stretch of I-89 in Vermont. North of town, I-89 runs to the Quebec border at Highgate Springs, and VTrans expects Quebec's Autoroute 35 to add traffic.

Local freight is a mix of high-tech plants, food brands and store deliveries. GlobalFoundries' Fab 9 in Essex Junction has about 1,800 workers on a 235-acre campus and is the state's largest for-profit private employer. BETA Technologies builds electric aircraft in a 188,500 sq ft plant at Burlington International Airport, which received about 4.9 million pounds of air freight in 2019. Lake Champlain Chocolates makes all its chocolates in one building on Pine Street, Burton's Burlington headquarters includes snowboard manufacturing, and Ben & Jerry's main factory is 25 miles east on I-89 in Waterbury. Most inbound freight is groceries, retail goods and building materials.

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. Vermont doesn't publish a county list of the largest employers by name.

Main routes and truck traffic

The highways most loads in and out of Burlington run on: I-89, I-189, US 2, US 7, VT 15, VT 127, VT 2A.

I-89 runs southeast through Williston and Montpelier to White River Junction, where it meets I-91, and on into New Hampshire toward Concord, Manchester and Boston. North, it runs through Colchester and St. Albans to the Quebec border at Highgate Springs and on toward Montreal. I-189 links I-89 Exit 13 with US 7 (Shelburne Road), the route south to Shelburne, Middlebury and Rutland. US 2 runs east through Williston and west across the Lake Champlain islands toward New York.

To cross Lake Champlain to New York, the Grand Isle–Plattsburgh ferry runs 24 hours a day, all year, with a 40-ton weight limit and a 13 foot 6 inch height limit on every boat. Idling is limited to 5 minutes in any hour, and in spring many towns post their roads with low weight limits during mud season.

Lane planner: what a load out of Burlington 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 Burlington

Only 24 interstate trucking companies list a Burlington address, because most of the area's carriers file under South Burlington, Williston, Colchester and the other towns around it. Of the 12 for-hire carriers in the city itself, 10 run five trucks or fewer. 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 private railroad and retail fleets.

Largest for-hire carriers based in Burlington

By trucks reported to FMCSA, from the Company Census File for companies with a physical address in Burlington, VT, as of October 28, 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

The Williston North and South Information Centers are named in an April 2025 memo from Vermont's Department of Buildings and General Services, which runs them. We found no official count of truck spaces at Vermont rest areas, so we don't list one. Source

VTrans told the Legislature in 2015 that Act 50 of 2009 directed the permanent closure of the Highgate rest area, the last one on I-89 before the Canadian border, and moved the site to VTrans. Source

Weigh stations

Vermont DMV's commercial vehicle enforcement inspectors check trucks and drivers at interstate weigh stations and on many rural roads. Trucks of any weight must stop at Vermont's weigh stations and inspection areas when they're open. The DMV says Vermont takes part in Drivewyze PreClear, with bypass rates set by its inspectors. Source

For weight, DMV staff use weigh-in-motion and portable scales. We found no official list of fixed weigh station locations or hours near Burlington, so we don't promise where or when a scale is open. Source

Freight calendar for Burlington and Vermont

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

What we book, by truck type

Dry van

Plants, food brands and retail distribution ship along I-89. Reloads out of Vermont can be thin, so we line up the next load in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York or Quebec before you deliver.

Reefer

Chocolate, ice cream, dairy and grocery freight need temperature control, and maple syrup ships all year. We confirm the temperature and the appointment, and in winter we ask about protect-from-freeze loads too.

Flatbed

Construction, building materials and aircraft and plant equipment move on flatbeds. Before booking a load off the interstate in spring, we check town road postings and your permits.

Power only

Distribution centers and plants along I-89 put preloaded trailers on the market. We confirm the trailer, the pickup number and the dock hours before you go.

Box truck

Retail, grocery and parcel deliveries across Burlington, South Burlington, Williston and Essex mean steady box truck work, including final-mile deliveries.

How we dispatch here

• Shut the engine off or plan on an APU: Vermont limits idling to 5 minutes in any 60-minute period, with exceptions for reefer units
• For loads over 80,000 lb, we check your Vermont annual permit and the designated routes before we book
• If you cross to New York by ferry, we check the 40-ton weight and 13 foot 6 inch height limits first
• Heading north to Quebec, plan your break before the border: the Highgate rest area on I-89 is permanently closed
• From March into April we check town road postings before booking heavy loads off I-89

State rules, permits and taxes are on our Vermont 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