Quest Liner
Quest Liner is a transportation company that offers freight transportation services and inventory management solutions.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1958
- HeadquartersDubuque, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
Quest Liner firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Quest Liner
- Legal name
- Quest Liner, Inc.
- Website
- https://questliner.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1958
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Quest Liner is a transportation company that offers freight transportation services and inventory management solutions.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Quest Liner industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Bulk Transportation Services
- NAICS
- Specialized Freight (except Used Goods) Trucking, Long-Distance (48423)
- SIC
- Trucking & Courier Services (No Air) (4210)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Liquid Bulk / Tanker Freight Brokerage (TLADAMAL)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Bulk Transloading & Intermodal Bulk Transfer Facilities (Rail/Truck/Conveyor/Barge) (TLAHABAN)
Keywords
Where Quest Liner is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Dubuque
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices13 records
Markets served
Quest Liner business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Bulk Transportation Services: Core revenue from liquid and dry bulk chemical transportation services across North America, serving specialty chemicals, pharmaceuticals, plastics, petroleum, and food grade hazardous materials industries. Revenue generated through contract and common carrier transportation rates.
- Private Fleet Conversion: Outsourcing private fleet operations to Quest Liner managed services, converting customer-owned fleets to company-managed operations for cost and service optimization.
- Tank Cleaning Services: State-of-the-art tank cleaning services for hazardous and non-hazardous materials, with Kosher certified facilities.
- Maintenance Services: Preventive maintenance, repairs, and parts services for various truck and trailer classes, including USDOT required tank trailer annual inspections.
- Rail-to-Truck Transfer: Transloading services enabling transport of liquid and dry bulk chemicals from rail to truck at trans-load facilities.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Transportation services quoted per shipment |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Quest Liner product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Quest Liner is a specialized bulk transportation carrier providing liquid and dry bulk freight services, intermodal rail-to-truck transfers, third-party logistics, private fleet conversion, tank cleaning, and maintenance services across North America. The company serves the specialty chemical, pharmaceutical, plastics, petroleum, and food-grade hazardous materials industries using a fleet of late-model tractors and specialized trailers, operating from more than 50 terminals in the U.S. and Mexico.
Product overview
Quest Liner offers a unified suite of bulk transportation services, not a modular software platform. The core offerings consist of Liquid Bulk Transportation and Dry Bulk Transportation services, supported by Intermodal Transportation for rail-to-truck transfers, Logistics services for supply chain management, Tank Cleaning Service, and Maintenance Services. The company also offers Private Fleet Conversion for customers looking to outsource their fleet operations. Together these services provide end-to-end bulk transportation and logistics solutions for the chemical, pharmaceutical, plastics, and petroleum industries across North America.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Liquid Bulk Transportation Specialized transportation of liquid bulk shipments including specialty chemicals, fuels, food grade hazardous materials, and kosher certified cargo for enterprise chemical, pharmaceutical, plastics, and petroleum customers across North America.
- Dry Bulk Transportation Dry bulk shipping and transfer services across North America using vacuum trailers for plastics, complemented by rail-to-truck transloading, tank cleaning, and warehousing and packaging capabilities.
- Intermodal Transportation
Quantifiable outcome
- Dow GOLD Carrier Safety Award - zero transportation safety related incidents during award year
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Quest Liner
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Quest Liner technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature8 records
Quest Liner partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- McCoy GroupcoreParent company of Quest Liner. McCoy Group was founded in 1958 by Robert McCoy in Shullsburg, Wisconsin. The company is still family owned and operated with a 'customer first' philosophy. Includes 27 Freightliner heavy/medium duty semi-truck dealerships, 16 John Deere Construction and Forestry dealerships, and Bulk Transportation division (Quest Liner and Foodliner). Corporate offices in Dubuque, Iowa.
- FoodlinercoreSister company under McCoy Group. Foodliner is the largest Bulk Food Grade carrier in the country and a Transport Topic Top 100 carrier. Together with Quest Liner, both companies are members of Transport Topics Top 100 Trucking Companies.
- American Chemistry Council (Responsible Care)coreQuest Liner is a Responsible Care Partner Carrier and certified to the Responsible Care Management System. The program requires continuous improvement in environmental, health, safety, and security (EHS&S) performance. Quest Liner's Dubuque, Blue Grass, and Degraff locations received 2025 certification.
- Quala (Channahon relocation)minorQuest Liner's Channahon, IL terminal relocated in 2016 to the Quala Wash facility in Joliet, IL. Quala provides wash facility services supporting Quest Liner operations.
- Operation Clean SweepminorIndustry campaign to reduce pellet, flake and powder loss in plastic resin handling operations. Quest Liner participates to protect environment from plastic pollution and work towards zero pellet loss.
- National FFA OrganizationminorMcCoy Group (parent of Quest Liner and Foodliner) participates in National FFA Convention & Expo annually to recruit students for diesel tech, sales, and management career opportunities. Third year of participation in 2025.
- MichelinminorMichelin hosted training seminar for Quest Liner technicians at Blue Grass, IA on topics including wheel preparation, proper mounting/dismounting of tires, and tire wear analysis.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Quest Liner competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Foodliner: Sister company under McCoy Group and also a Transport Topics Top 100 carrier. Foodliner is the largest US food-grade bulk carrier and shares terminals, drivers, and back-office resources with Quest Liner; directly comparable in fleet, terminal network, and customer profile but focused on food-grade rather than chemicals/hazmat.
- Quality Carriers: One of the largest US liquid bulk chemical carriers (formerly Quality Distribution), with a comparable fleet of chemical-hauling tankers, ISO containers, and rail-to-truck transfer capability. Serves the same Dow/Eastman-class chemical shippers and is the most direct head-to-head competitor.
- Trimac Transportation: Canadian-based bulk carrier specializing in liquid bulk chemicals and petroleum products across North America. Operates similar specialized fleet (stainless steel, FRP-lined, hazmat-certified) and serves overlapping chemical customers, with cross-border Canadian/US operations comparable to Quest Liner's Mexico presence.
- Ruan Transportation: US dedicated contract carrier with a significant bulk transportation division including liquid and dry bulk chemicals. Comparable in fleet size (~3,000+ tractors), terminal network, and integrated managed-transportation offering, including private fleet conversion services that mirror Quest Liner's.
- Kenan Advantage Group: Specialized bulk transporter of chemicals, petroleum, food-grade, and plastics across North America with a large terminal network. Directly comparable in customer segments (Dow, Eastman-class chemical shippers), equipment types, and North American geographic coverage.
Regional players
- Superior Plus / ERCO Worldwide: Canadian-based chemicals and propane distributor with US bulk distribution operations. Comparable in liquid bulk handling of chemicals, though more vertically integrated (producer plus distributor) and primarily Canadian-focused rather than directly competing in Quest Liner's core US lanes.
Broad incumbents
- Schneider National: One of the largest US truckload carriers and a publicly-listed Top 5 trucking company with dedicated bulk, intermodal, and logistics divisions. Overlaps with Quest Liner in intermodal/bulk and large-enterprise chemical customers, but operates at far greater scale and breadth rather than specializing in liquid hazmat bulk.
- Werner Enterprises: Large publicly-traded US truckload carrier with dedicated and logistics services. Compares as a broad incumbent with overlapping enterprise customers and dedicated-fleet capabilities, though Werner does not specialize in liquid bulk chemicals.
Others
- Hub Group: US intermodal and logistics provider with rail-to-truck transfer capability comparable to Quest Liner's transloading service. Adjacent competitor in intermodal/containerized freight rather than direct liquid-bulk competition; useful as a benchmark for intermodal growth strategies.
- Quala Wash / Boasso Global: Provider of tank wash, ISO container depot, and bulk transport cleaning services. Quest Liner relocated its Joliet terminal to a Quala facility, signaling Quala as a complementary service partner rather than direct carrier competitor; comparable in tank cleaning capabilities that Quest Liner also offers in-house.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Quest Liner social profiles
Digital presenceQuest Liner compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Quest Liner financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Quest Liner leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles16 records
Quest Liner funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Quest Liner M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Quest Liner
What does Quest Liner do?
Quest Liner is a specialized bulk transportation carrier providing liquid and dry bulk freight services, intermodal rail-to-truck transfers, third-party logistics, private fleet conversion, tank cleaning, and maintenance services across North America. The company serves the specialty chemical, pharmaceutical, plastics, petroleum, and food-grade hazardous materials industries using a fleet of late-model tractors and specialized trailers, operating from more than 50 terminals in the U.S. and Mexico.
Is Quest Liner a public or private company?
Quest Liner is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Quest Liner founded?
Quest Liner was founded in 1958. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Quest Liner based?
Quest Liner is headquartered in Dubuque, United States, in the North America region.
How does Quest Liner make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Bulk Transportation Services are the primary driver. The others are private Fleet Conversion, tank Cleaning Services, maintenance Services and rail-to-Truck Transfer.
Who are Quest Liner's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Foodliner, Quality Carriers, Trimac Transportation, Ruan Transportation and Kenan Advantage Group. Superior Plus / ERCO Worldwide is listed as a regional player. Broad incumbents are Schneider National and Werner Enterprises. Others are Hub Group and Quala Wash / Boasso Global.
Does Quest Liner have an API?
No public API is recorded for Quest Liner.
What industry is Quest Liner in?
Quest Liner's product category is Bulk Transportation Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is TLADAMAL, Liquid Bulk / Tanker Freight Brokerage, with a secondary code of TLAHABAN, Bulk Transloading & Intermodal Bulk Transfer Facilities (Rail/Truck/Conveyor/Barge). Its NAICS code is 48423 and its SIC code is 4210.