Heartland Express is like the FedEx Freight or UPS Freight of full truckload shipping, moving goods for businesses like retailers and manufacturers across the US and Canada.

Think of Heartland Express as an independent, asset-based trucking company, similar to the core truckload operations of a larger player like J.B. Hunt Transport Services.

• Dry Van Truckload Service: This involves the transportation of general freight using standard enclosed trailers across the United States and Canada.
• Temperature-Controlled Truckload Service: This service provides specialized transportation for goods that require specific temperature environments, such as perishable food products or other sensitive items.

Major Customers of Heartland Express (HTLD)

Heartland Express primarily provides services to other companies, operating as a business-to-business (B2B) truckload carrier.

Due to the diversified nature of its customer base, Heartland Express does not publicly disclose the names of its specific major customer companies. Their financial filings typically indicate that no single customer accounts for more than 10% of their total revenue, making it uncommon to name individual customers.

However, based on company descriptions, Heartland Express primarily serves:

• Retailers: These customers include companies involved in the sale of various products directly to consumers, spanning sectors such as consumer goods, appliances, and food products.
• Manufacturers: These customers are companies that produce goods, including those in the consumer goods, appliances, food products, and automotive industries.

• TRATON SE (OTCPK: TRATF)
• Daimler Truck Holding AG (OTCPK: DTRUY)
• Wabash National Corporation (NYSE: WNC)

Michael J. Gerdin, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

Michael J. Gerdin began his career with Heartland Express in 1983 as a teenager, working in various departments including operations, sales, safety, shop, and driver recruiting. From 1998 to 2001, he served as President of A&M Express, a wholly owned subsidiary of Heartland Express. He was appointed Vice President of Regional Operations in 2001, became President of the Company in 2006, and was named CEO and Chairman of the Board in 2011. Mr. Gerdin earned a BA degree in Business Management from Luther College. Under his leadership, Heartland Express expanded significantly, including acquisitions of Gordon Trucking (2013), Interstate Distributor (2017), Millis Transfer (2019), Smith Transport (2022), and CFI (2022).

Christopher Alan Strain, Vice President, Finance, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Principal Accounting Officer

Christopher Alan Strain has served in Heartland Express's accounting and finance department since 2007. He became Vice President of Finance, Treasurer, and Chief Financial Officer on November 1, 2017. Prior to this, he served as Vice President, Controller, and Secretary from May 2015 to November 2017. Before joining Heartland Express, Mr. Strain was employed by Deloitte & Touche, LLP as a certified public accountant from 1997 to 2007, and he is currently an inactive CPA.

Kent D. Rigdon, Chief Operating Officer

Kent D. Rigdon serves as the Chief Operating Officer for Heartland Express.

Joshua S. Helmich, Secretary and Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Contract Freighters

Joshua S. Helmich is the Secretary of Heartland Express and has been the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Contract Freighters, Inc. (a subsidiary) since December 2023. He previously held roles within Heartland Express as Vice President & Controller (May 2018–May 2020) and Vice President, Controller & Secretary (May 2020–December 2023). Before joining Heartland Express, he had roles at Target (2003–2015) and Deloitte & Touche (1999–2003), and he is an inactive CPA.

David Paul Millis, Millis Transfer President and Director

David Paul Millis is the President of Millis Transfer, LLC and also serves as a Director for Heartland Express. Millis Transfer was acquired by Heartland Express in August 2019.

1. Weak Freight Market Conditions and Excess Capacity: The trucking industry is highly cyclical, and Heartland Express is currently facing a prolonged downturn characterized by soft freight demand and an oversupply of truck capacity. This imbalance leads to lower freight rates, reduced shipment volumes, and significant pressure on revenue and operating margins, resulting in reported operating losses.
2. Acquisition Integration Challenges: Heartland Express's recent significant acquisitions, particularly CFI and Smith Transport in 2022, have introduced operational complexities and integration challenges. These difficulties have led to disruptions, potential loss of key employees, customer concentration issues, and underperforming acquired fleets, which have negatively impacted expected synergies and overall profitability.
3. Fuel Price Volatility and Rising Operating Costs: As a truckload carrier, Heartland Express is highly dependent on petroleum products. Fluctuations in fuel prices, driven by geopolitical conflicts or other market factors, can significantly affect operating expenses. While the company utilizes fuel surcharge agreements with most customers, these may not always fully offset increased fuel costs, particularly for unrecoverable fuel consumed during empty or out-of-route miles and idling time. Additionally, the company faces broader rising operating costs due to inflation, regulatory changes, and expenses related to driver recruitment and retention.

• Autonomous Trucking Technology: The ongoing development and testing of self-driving trucks, particularly for line-haul operations, pose a significant emerging threat. If commercially viable autonomous trucks achieve widespread adoption, they could drastically reduce operating costs (primarily driver wages) and increase efficiency for carriers that implement them. This innovation could fundamentally alter the competitive landscape, potentially rendering traditional human-driven, asset-based models less competitive due to higher labor costs, or requiring massive capital investment from companies like Heartland Express to maintain parity.
• Digital Freight Brokerage Platforms: The rise of technology-driven freight matching and brokerage platforms (e.g., Uber Freight, Convoy) presents a clear emerging threat. These platforms leverage advanced algorithms and data analytics to optimize freight matching, increase price transparency, and streamline the logistics process for shippers. By efficiently connecting shippers directly with available capacity, they can disintermediate traditional sales channels, intensify pricing competition for established asset-based carriers like Heartland Express, and potentially erode market share by offering more agile and cost-effective solutions.

Heartland Express, Inc. operates in the truckload transportation sector, primarily offering dry van and temperature-controlled truckload services in the United States and Canada. The addressable markets for these services are substantial in both regions.

United States Market

• Dry Van Truckload Services: The addressable market for full-truck-load (FTL) services, which includes dry van operations, in the United States is estimated to be approximately $448.6 billion USD in 2025.
• Temperature-Controlled Truckload Services: The United States refrigerated trucking market, which encompasses temperature-controlled truckload services, was valued at $31.14 billion USD in 2025.

Canada Market

• Dry Van Truckload Services: The Canadian truckload market, which includes dry van operations, was valued at approximately $15.0 billion USD in 2025.
• Temperature-Controlled Truckload Services: The Canada Cold Chain Logistics Market, relevant to temperature-controlled truckload services, was valued at approximately $6.09 billion USD in 2025.

Heartland Express (HTLD) anticipates several key drivers to contribute to its revenue growth over the next two to three years:

1. Operational Improvements from Fleet Unification and Investments: The company expects to realize benefits from recent investments and the strategic unification of its CFI and Heartland Express fleets, which are projected to improve operational results in 2026 and beyond. These efficiencies could lead to enhanced service, better capacity utilization, and more competitive offerings, indirectly supporting revenue expansion.
2. Recovery in the Freight Market: Heartland Express anticipates a more meaningful recovery in the freight market later in 2026, with early positive trends already emerging in customer volume and rates. A stronger overall freight environment typically translates directly into increased demand for shipping services and improved pricing power for carriers.
3. Network Optimization and Technology Alignment: Strategic initiatives focused on optimizing the company's network and aligning technology are aimed at boosting efficiency. These improvements are expected to position Heartland Express to better capitalize on potential industry and market improvements, potentially attracting more customers and freight.
4. Industry Capacity Reduction: Management observes positive signs within the transportation industry regarding the reduction of excess capacity through both regulatory enforcement and market exits. A decrease in overall industry capacity could create a more favorable supply-demand balance, leading to increased pricing leverage and revenue growth opportunities for remaining carriers.

Share Repurchases

• Heartland Express authorized the repurchase of up to 3,000,000 shares in August 2021, in addition to approximately 3,745,000 shares remaining under a prior authorization.
• The company repurchased 4.3 million shares for $63.0 million over the past five years, up to September 30, 2025.
• In 2025, $10.4 million was used for repurchases of common stock, with 1 million shares repurchased for $8.9 million during the second quarter.

Outbound Investments

• In May 2022, Heartland Express acquired Smith Transport, assuming $46.8 million in debt and finance lease obligations.
• In August 2022, the company completed the acquisition of CFI (Contract Freighters, Inc.), involving initial borrowings of $447.3 million less associated fees.
• Franklin Logistics, LLC was merged into Smith Transport, LLC effective December 31, 2024, as part of continued integration efforts.

Capital Expenditures

• For the full calendar year 2025, net capital expenditures were $26.3 million.
• The primary focus of capital expenditures includes investing in the fleet and terminal network, fleet modernization, and strategically shrinking the fleet to align with freight demand.
• Heartland Express aims to maintain one of the youngest fleets in the industry, with the average age of its consolidated tractor fleet being 2.6 years as of September 30, 2025.