Large carrier M&A proves elusive in 2025
Large freight carriers largely avoided major mergers and acquisitions in 2025, choosing to prioritize internal fixes over big purchase deals.
With freight demand staying weak and day-to-day operational challenges still pressing, many of the biggest fleets focused on cost-cutting and improving asset utilization — in plain terms, running their existing trucks, trailers and terminals more efficiently instead of expanding through large acquisitions.
For working drivers, that shift matters because it points to how large fleets responded to market conditions. Rather than growing by buying competitors, the emphasis stayed on “doing more with less,” which typically means tighter control over spending and a heavier focus on keeping equipment productive.
That doesn’t mean deal-making stopped altogether. While large, headline M&A was limited, small and midsize transactions remained active, showing that consolidation and ownership changes continued in parts of the industry even as the biggest carriers stayed on the sidelines.
Overall, the 2025 pattern reflected a freight environment where improving efficiency took priority over rapid expansion, especially among the largest carriers.