What Ryan Transportation does

Ryan Transportation is a Livonia, Michigan-based freight transportation and brokerage company founded in 1970, operating across 48 states with concentrated service in the Great Lakes Region and Midwest. Its service portfolio is organized into four divisions: AXI Truckload (interstate over-the-road services using owner-operator equipment), Cavalier Cartage (Detroit Commercial Zone city driving and Michigan cartage), Cross Dock (a six-door less-than-truckload facility in Livonia), and Industrial Switching (per-switch yard tractor services). The company serves primarily the automotive industry and its tier suppliers, with 95% of freight described as no-touch.

The company's revenue model is transaction-based across each service line, with pricing delivered through quote requests rather than published rates. Go-to-market is sales-led via direct quote requests, a website-driven sales funnel, and outreach to shippers requiring truckload, LTL, and specialized freight. Technology layer consists of EDI integration for customer-system interoperability and GPS tracking for real-time shipment visibility, supplemented by a recent Tabi Connect integration with ShipperGuide that automates over 90% of load pricing through APIs.

Ryan's most strategically consequential recent moves position it as a distribution and brokerage channel for autonomous freight. A February 2026 partnership with Bot Auto made Ryan the freight broker for driverless operations on the Houston-Dallas corridor, culminating in the first fully driverless commercial truckload run in April 2026 at a reported cost under $2.00 per mile versus $3.78 with human drivers. A $2.5M factoring facility from TAB Bank in July 2025 provided working capital to support this scaling. The firm remains privately held with 11-50 employees and no disclosed equity investors.

Name

Ryan Transportation

Legal name

Ryan Transportation

Website

https://ryantransportation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ryan Transportation is a Livonia, Michigan-based freight broker and trucking firm serving the automotive industry across 48 states via AXI Truckload, Cavalier Cartage, Cross Dock, and Industrial Switching divisions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Freight Transportation Services

NAICS

Freight Transportation Arrangement (48851), Freight Transportation Arrangement (488510)

SIC

Trucking (No Local) (4213), Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)

akta.pro primary industry

Automotive & Finished Vehicle (Car Hauler) TL Carriers (TLADADAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Interregional/Long-Haul LTL Network Carriers (TLADAEAC)

Keywords

• Freight transportation services
• Truckload brokerage
• Cross dock logistics
• LTL shipping services
• Automotive freight

Headquarters

HQ city

Livonia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Truckload Freight Services: Over-the-road truckload services utilizing owner operators and company drivers for interstate freight movement throughout the Midwest and Central United States.
2. City Driving Services: Local and regional cartage services serving the Detroit Commercial Zone and Michigan with flexible service capabilities.
3. Cross Dock Operations: Less-than-truckload (LTL) operations through their six-door Cross Dock facility in Livonia, Michigan in the Detroit Metro Area.
4. Industrial Switching: Diesel powered switch tractor services for moving trailers in and out of yards and warehouses, charged on a per switch basis.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Ryan Transportation is a Michigan-based freight transportation company providing truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL) cross-dock, city cartage, and industrial switching services to the automotive industry. The company operates AXI Truckload for over-the-road interstate hauling, Cavalier Cartage for Detroit-area city driving, a six-door Cross Dock facility in Livonia, and an Industrial Switching division for yard trailer movements.

Product overview

Ryan Transportation is a Michigan-based freight transportation company offering a portfolio of truckload and logistics services. The core service offerings include AXI Truckload (over-the-road interstate trucking), Cavalier Cartage (city driving operations), Cross Dock (less-than-truckload handling), and Industrial Switching (yard operations). The company also provides technology-enabled services including EDI capabilities and GPS tracking for real-time shipment visibility. Recent partnerships with autonomous trucking provider Bot Auto have expanded service offerings to include driverless freight operations on the Houston-Dallas corridor.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AXI Truckload: Owner/operator, inter-state truckload division utilizing hundreds of pieces of equipment throughout the Midwest and Central regions of the United States.
• Cavalier Cartage
• Ryan Transportation Group

Products and services

• AXI Truckload

Quantifiable outcome

• 95% No-Touch Freight
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ShipperGuide (via Tabi Connect)coreTechnology or Integration · 20 May 2026Tabi Connect's integration with ShipperGuide's transportation management platform enabled Ryan Transportation to double its spot freight bookings and process over 90% of load pricing through APIs during the first month of deployment. The combined platform allows brokers to respond more quickly to spot freight opportunities through automated rate management and freight quoting tools.
• Bot AutocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 February 2026Strategic partnership with Bot Auto to launch autonomous driverless freight operations between Houston and Dallas. Ryan Transportation serves as the freight brokerage sourcing loads for Bot Auto's autonomous trucks. The partnership addresses driver fatigue, hours-of-service limitations, and driver availability issues on the challenging 200-mile overnight corridor. This represents a significant milestone in commercializing autonomous trucking, with Ryan Transportation integrating Bot Auto's Transportation-as-a-Service model into its logistics network.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• J.B. Hunt Transport Services: One of the largest U.S. intermodal and dedicated truckload carriers with significant automotive OEM exposure. Comparable as a TL/intermodal competitor also targeting automotive shippers, but at vastly greater scale and national breadth than Ryan.
• Schneider National: Major truckload, intermodal, and logistics provider with dedicated automotive capacity. Comparable as a multi-mode carrier serving U.S. automakers, though significantly larger and more diversified than Ryan.
• Knight-Swift Transportation: Largest U.S. truckload carrier with dedicated, refrigerated, and LTL businesses, including automotive exposure. Comparable in the TL-for-automotive dimension but at much larger scale and broader geographic footprint.

Direct peers

• Werner Enterprises: Mid-to-large TL and dedicated carrier with a notable dedicated automotive practice. Closely comparable in business model — dedicated truckload for automotive OEMs and tier-1 suppliers — though materially larger.
• CH Robinson Worldwide: Largest U.S. freight broker with significant automotive and industrial shipper books. Comparable in the freight brokerage dimension (Ryan's spot brokerage via Tabi Connect) and in serving the same automotive customer base.
• Hub Group: Intermodal and logistics provider combining trucking, brokerage, and dedicated services. Comparable as a multi-service Midwest-anchored logistics operator competing for similar automotive and industrial freight.
• RXO: Asset-light truckload brokerage spun out of XPO. Comparable to Ryan's Tabi Connect-enabled spot brokerage business and its focus on technology-driven freight matching.
• Echo Global Logistics: Technology-driven freight brokerage serving shippers across truckload and LTL. Comparable as a broker competitor pursuing technology-enabled freight arrangement for similar mid-market shippers.
• ArcBest: LTL (ABF Freight) plus asset-light truckload brokerage and logistics. Comparable to Ryan's mix of LTL cross-dock operations and truckload/brokerage services for industrial and automotive customers.
• U.S. Xpress Enterprises: Truckload carrier with dedicated and brokerage businesses serving industrial shippers. Comparable as a TL/dedicated competitor operating in Midwest corridors with automotive-adjacent freight.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/RyanTransLivonia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ryan-transportation-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ryan Transportation