Usher Transport

What Usher Transport does

Usher Transport, Inc. is a fourth-generation, family-owned tank truck carrier founded in 1946 in Louisville, Kentucky, specializing in the transportation of bulk liquid hazardous and non-hazardous commodities including chemicals, petroleum, aviation fuels, lubricants, hazardous waste, and Class 7 radioactive materials. The company operates a network of 18 terminals across the southeastern United States and Midwest (Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois), with service extending to West Coast destinations and Canada, primarily within a 500-mile radius. Its three core service lines are Liquid Bulk Transport (the primary revenue stream), the Rail Services Division (Direct Truck to Locomotive refueling for Class 1 railroads such as Norfolk Southern and Canadian Pacific/Soo, plus MARTTS bulk transfer facilities in Louisville, KY and Bensenville, IL), and Emergency Fueling for disaster relief.

The business model is a transaction-fee tank trucking carrier serving enterprise customers ranging from Fortune 500 chemical and oil companies (Chevron, Westlake) down to smaller distributors and jobbers. Pricing is quote-based and undisclosed publicly; driver pay data suggests weekly unit pricing in the $1,000–$2,000+ range for company drivers and $2,000+ for owner-operators. The technology stack is operational rather than transformative: TMW Cloud/eStat for shipment tracking, Motive (formerly Keeptruckin) for ELD, telematics, and dash cameras, and TenStreet for online driver training. Go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales with dedicated equipment arrangements and routine delivery contracts.

Usher Transport holds Responsible Care designation from the American Chemistry Council (January 2026) and has accumulated one of the most decorated safety records in the tank truck industry, including multiple American Trucking Associations President's Trophies, NTTC Outstanding Performance Trophies, and HEIL North American Safety Contest Grand Champion awards. Leadership is family-controlled: Ryan Usher serves as President and CEO (fourth generation), alongside co-CEO Bill Usher Jr. and co-owners Alan Usher and William Usher. The company has remained privately held with no institutional investors across its 79-year history, weathering a 40% revenue decline in Q2 2020 without workforce reductions.

Name

Usher Transport

Legal name

Usher Transport, Inc.

Website

https://ushertransport.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Usher Transport is a fourth-generation, family-owned tank truck carrier founded in 1946, transporting bulk liquid chemicals, petroleum, aviation fuels, and Class 7 radioactive materials across 18 US terminals, serving Fortune 500 chemical and oil customers plus smaller distributors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tank Truck Transportation Services

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Crude Oil & Petroleum Products Tanker Transport (TLADALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Bulk Transloading & Intermodal Bulk Transfer Facilities (Rail/Truck/Conveyor/Barge) (TLAHABAN), Rail Transportation of Crude & Refined Products (EUALADAI)

Keywords

• Tank truck transportation
• Bulk liquid hauling
• Hazardous materials transport
• Chemical carrier services
• Rail locomotive refueling

Headquarters

HQ city

Louisville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices18 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Tank Truck Transportation Services: Core revenue stream from transporting bulk liquid hazardous and non-hazardous materials including chemicals, petroleum, aviation fuels, and Class 7 radioactive materials across the US and Canada.
2. Rail Services Division: Direct Truck to Locomotive (DTL) refueling services at Bensenville, IL for Class 1 Railroads (Norfolk Southern, Canadian Pacific/Soo), and bulk transfer facilities (MARTTS) in Louisville, KY.
3. Emergency Fueling Services: Emergency fueling support during natural disasters, transporting fuel and transferring product to emergency vehicles. Services hurricanes and disaster events.
4. Equipment Sales: Sale of trucking equipment through contact with Keith Judd.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Usher Transport is a tank truck carrier that transports bulk liquid commodities including chemicals, petroleum, aviation fuels, hazardous waste, and Class 7 radioactive materials across the United States and Canada. Beyond liquid bulk hauling, the company operates a Rail Services Division that performs Direct Truck to Locomotive (DTL) refueling for Class 1 railroads and MARTTS bulk transfer services, and provides emergency fueling during natural disasters.

Product overview

Usher Transport operates as a tank truck carrier providing liquid bulk transportation services with a core portfolio of three interconnected service lines: Liquid Bulk Transport (handling chemicals, petroleum, aviation fuels, hazardous waste, and radioactive materials), Rail Services Division (offering Direct Truck to Locomotive refueling and MARTTS bulk transfer facilities), and Emergency Fueling (disaster response fuel delivery). The company also supports operations through Equipment Sales and Driver Recruiting Services. The company motto is 'Our Only Product Is Service,' emphasizing their service-oriented approach to the tank truck industry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Liquid Bulk Transport
• Rail Services Division
• Emergency Fueling
• Equipment Sales

Quantifiable outcome

• Dave Powell achieved 2,880,576 accident-free miles with 22+ years of professional tank truck driving experience.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Keeptruckin (Motive)coreTechnology or Integration · 27 August 2020Partnership with Keeptruckin (now Motive) for ELD, telematics, and dash camera solutions. Implementation included Samsung tablets for all drivers and owner-operators. The platform provides real-time tracking, automated functions, and improves driver experience while making the company more competitive in the market.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Heartland Tank Services: Midwestern tank truck operator providing bulk liquid chemical and petroleum transportation. Operates at a regional scale comparable to Usher with overlapping customer profiles in industrial chemicals.
• Quality Carriers: One of the largest US tank truck carriers operating a fleet of thousands of trailers across the chemical, food-grade, and petroleum bulk segments. Competes head-to-head with Usher for major chemical and oil company contracts.
• Foodliner: Reinholds, PA-based liquid bulk carrier with large fleets serving food-grade, chemical, and petroleum customers nationwide. Direct competitor in liquid bulk tank truck services with overlapping enterprise customer base.
• Liquid Transport Corporation: Midwestern tank truck carrier transporting liquid bulk chemicals and food-grade products. Comparable carrier profile to Usher with similar commodity mix and dedicated fleet operations.
• Ruan Transportation Management Systems: Des Moines, IA-based dedicated and bulk transportation provider with a sizeable liquid and dry bulk tank fleet. Competes with Usher for chemical and petroleum customers and shares multi-generational operational expertise.
• Trimac Transportation: Calgary-based bulk carrier operating tank trucks across North America, including chemicals and petroleum. Comparable regional footprint to Usher and a similarly long operating history, with deep chemical-industry customer relationships.
• Heritage Transport Group: Indianapolis-area liquid bulk and chemical tanker carrier serving industrial customers across the Midwest and Southeast. Direct overlap with Usher's chemical and petroleum customer segments and regional footprint.
• Groendyke Transport: Enid, OK-based tank truck carrier transporting bulk liquids including chemicals and petroleum across the US. Directly competes with Usher Transport in hazardous liquid bulk trucking for the same chemical and oil customer base.
• Kenan Advantage Group: North Canton, OH-based bulk transport specialist operating a large tank truck fleet serving chemical, food, and petroleum customers across the US and Canada. Overlaps with Usher on regional chemical and petroleum lanes.

Broad incumbents

• Schneider National: Green Bay, WI-based large multi-modal carrier whose Bulk division operates tank and dry bulk capacity for chemical and petroleum customers. A broad incumbent competing with Usher for Fortune 500 chemical and oil contracts at greater scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ushertransport

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

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 Usher Transport