Braun's Express

What Braun's Express does

Braun's Express is a privately held, family-owned regional freight transportation company founded in the early 1930s and headquartered in Hopedale, Massachusetts, with a primary origin facility in Dalton, Georgia — the U.S. carpet capital. Since 1996, the company has specialized in carpet and flooring supply chain logistics, operating 11 regional terminals across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest with full coverage in 21 states and partial coverage in 4 additional states. The fleet consists of hundreds of trucks and trailers, including carpet-spec trailers with specialized handling equipment, and the company employs 251-500 people. Braun's Express is owned and controlled by Cynthia and David Normandin, with Cynthia serving as President and principal owner; the company holds WBENC woman-owned and EPA SmartWay certifications. The business serves carpet and flooring manufacturers, retailers, contractors, job sites, residential customers, and general commodity shippers, with primary customer concentration in the flooring vertical.

The company's technology stack centers on a transportation management system with custom integration capabilities, supporting tailored EDI/TMS-style integrations with customer systems. Customer-facing digital tools include an online freight rate quoting tool (currently limited to Northwest GA origin ZIPs), real-time shipment tracking by Pro Number or Bill of Lading number, an online invoice payment portal processing up to 28 invoices per transaction, fillable bill of lading forms, and a service center locator. There is no public API or developer-facing platform. Add-on services include residential delivery, liftgate service, call-ahead appointments, expedited delivery, and warehousing/storage at terminal facilities.

Braun's Express generates revenue through transaction-based freight transportation pricing (varying by shipment type, origin ZIP, destination type, and additional services), with a fuel surcharge indexed to the U.S. On-Highway Diesel Fuel Index (currently 59.50% at $4.668/gallon diesel). Warehousing and storage rentals provide a secondary managed services revenue stream. Go-to-market combines direct terminal-based sales engagement (mid-funnel) with online self-service tools (bottom-funnel) and a company website acting as a top-of-funnel touchpoint. The company does not disclose pricing publicly except for base online quotes from Northwest GA origins, and negotiates special pricing with contract customers on monthly credit terms.

Name

Braun's Express

Legal name

Braun's Express, Inc.

Website

https://braunsexpress.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1934

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Braun's Express is a family-owned regional freight carrier specializing in carpet and flooring supply chain logistics since 1996, operating 11 terminals across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest with hundreds of trucks serving enterprise and SMB shippers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Freight Transportation and Logistics Services

SIC

Trucking (No Local) (4213), Trucking & Courier Services (No Air) (4210)

akta.pro primary industry

National/Regional LTL General Freight Carriers (TLADAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

LTL Consolidators & Deconsolidators (TLADAEAE)

Keywords

• Regional freight transportation
• Carpet logistics services
• Less-than-truckload shipping
• Flooring supply chain
• Warehousing and storage

Headquarters

HQ city

Hopedale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices11 records

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. Freight Transportation Services: Less-than-truckload (LTL) and regional freight transportation primarily for carpet and flooring products. Pricing is based on shipment type (by yard or by weight), destination type (retailer, residence, job site), and additional services (liftgate, liftgate required, non-standard delivery). Revenue is transaction-based, with fuel surcharges applied based on U.S. On-Highway Diesel Fuel Index.
2. Warehousing and Storage: Renting space at strategically-located delivery facilities, from single bin to several thousand square feet, for short-term projects to permanent dock space.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Braun's Express is a regional less-than-truckload (LTL) freight transportation carrier specializing in carpet and flooring supply chain logistics for retailers, contractors, and mills. In addition to linehaul and pickup/delivery transportation, the company operates warehousing and storage services across 11 regional terminals in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest United States. The company complements its physical operations with an online portal offering shipment tracking, freight quoting, invoice payment, and freight claims processing.

Product overview

Braun's Express operates as a regional transportation company specializing in carpet and flooring supply chain logistics, offering a unified freight and logistics service with multiple integrated customer tools and add-on services. The core offering is their Carpet and Flooring Supply Chain Logistics service, supported by Transportation and Logistics Solutions for general commodities. Customers access the service through a suite of online tools including Quote a Freight Rate, Shipment Tracking, Pay Your Invoice Online, and Download Forms. Add-on services such as Residential Deliveries, Liftgate Service, Call Ahead Appointments, and Expedited Delivery augment the core transport offering, while Warehousing and Storage provides supplementary fulfillment capabilities. The company operates 11 regional terminals across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest with 90+ years of business history.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Carpet and Flooring Supply Chain Logistics

Quantifiable outcome

• Damage-free delivery of carpet and flooring products through specialized handling

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Old Dominion Freight Line: Largest U.S. LTL carrier by revenue with a national terminal network and strong super-regional density in many of the same Midwest and Northeast lanes Braun's serves. Comparable as an asset-based LTL general freight operator targeting regional and national shippers.
• Saia Inc. Public LTL carrier with a national network that overlaps Braun's Midwest and Eastern geographies. Comparable as an asset-based LTL operator with similar terminal-based operating model and direct sales-led GTM.
• Estes Express Lines: Largest privately held LTL carrier in the U.S., operating a broad regional/national terminal network with strong Eastern U.S. density. Closely comparable family-owned/private LTL peer with overlapping Northeast and Mid-Atlantic coverage.
• Southeastern Freight Lines: Privately held regional LTL carrier serving the Southeast, Southwest, and parts of the Midwest. Comparable as an asset-based LTL operator with similar terminal-network model and direct customer service orientation.
• R+L Carriers: Family-owned LTL and truckload carrier with broad national and super-regional terminal coverage including the Midwest and East Coast. Comparable asset-based, family-owned LTL peer with similar direct-customer service orientation.
• TForce Freight (TFI International): LTL unit of TFI International with national and Canadian LTL networks and terminal density across the Midwest and Northeast. Comparable asset-based LTL carrier competing in many of Braun's lanes.
• ABF Freight (ArcBest): Asset-based national LTL carrier operating within ArcBest Corporation, with broad terminal coverage including the Midwest and East Coast. Comparable as a public, asset-heavy LTL operator with overlapping general-freight and specialty-handling capabilities.

Direct peers

• AAA Cooper Transportation: Privately held LTL carrier concentrated in the Southeast with super-regional reach into the Midwest. Comparable regional asset-based LTL peer with overlapping shipment types and similar terminal-based service model.
• Averitt Express: Asset-based LTL, truckload, and logistics provider with regional density across the Southeast and Midwest. Comparable as a multi-mode, terminal-networked carrier serving enterprise and SMB shippers in similar geographies.
• Dayton Freight Lines: Privately held regional LTL carrier concentrated in the Midwest with extensions into the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Directly comparable to Braun's regional LTL model, terminal footprint, and direct-sales-led customer engagement.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Braun's Express