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The world’s largest retailer is now also the largest private carrier in North America. Walmart Inc.’s recent initiatives to strengthen its in-house carrier business have catapulted the company to the No. 1 spot on this year’s updated Transport Topics’ Top 100 Private Carriers list, which ranks companies by the number of tractors they use in their private fleets.

The retail giant expanded its fleet to 12,663 units, an increase of about 1,300 units from a year ago, more than enough to displace longtime industry leader PepsiCo Inc. from the top spot.

In addition to purchasing new equipment, Walmart has also invested in its drivers. In recent years, the company has increased driver salaries and launched a training program for store and warehouse employees to prepare them for the job of professional driver. The first graduates of this driver training program hit the road last year.

Walmart is perhaps the most prominent example of the many trucking companies that have continued to increase their investment in their private fleets, even as conditions in the freight for-hire market have been in their favor due to an oversupply of truck capacity. More than half of this year’s top 100 private trucking companies have increased their tractor fleets in the past year.

While it’s been more than two decades, Walmart was ranked No. 1 in 2002 when Transport Topics released its first Top 100 list of privately held transportation companies. A year later, however, Walmart fell to No. 3 after it sold its food distribution subsidiary McLane Co. to Berkshire Hathaway.

In the years that followed, McLane remained a major private fleet operator and currently ranks 8th in the top 100.

Walmart’s return to No. 1 on this year’s list marks the end of a 14-year reign at the top for PepsiCo. The soft drink and snack maker began its long reign in 2010 after buying back two large, publicly traded bottling companies it had spun off a decade earlier. By merging those bottling companies and their private fleet operations into PepsiCo, the company became the largest private transportation company in North America at the time, a position it held until this year.

Before PepsiCo’s long-standing position at No. 1, both food wholesaler Sysco Corp. and former beverage distributor Coca-Cola Enterprises were the largest private transportation companies in the industry.

In addition to the changes at the top of this year’s Top 100, the updated list also reflects several new acquisitions and includes some notable new additions.

NexTier Oilfield Solutions, a major private fleet operator in the energy sector, merged with Patterson-UTI Energy last September, creating one of the largest drilling and well completion services providers in the United States. The combined company now ranks 16th in the Top 100.

Meanwhile, home improvement retailer The Home Depot joins the list at No. 50 following its acquisition of SRS Distribution, a roofing and building materials distributor, in June. Before the acquisition, SRS ranked No. 89 last year.

Another new addition to the top 100 this year is Dollar General, which debuts at number 18. The discount chain said it has expanded its private fleet to over 2,000 tractors by the end of 2023 to optimize costs and gain more control over its supply chain.

Canadian fertilizer and agricultural services company Nutrien returns to the top 100 this year at number 10, while Select Water Solutions, a Houston-based provider of water management services to the oil and gas industry, joins the list at number 38.

Other newcomers to the top 100 include regional soft drink distributor Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages at No. 55, Midwest-based convenience store operator Kwik Trip at No. 73, industrial gases maker Matheson Tri-Gas at No. 81, Florida-based foodservice distributor Cheney Brothers at No. 83 and equipment rental company H&E Equipment Services at No. 94. Also new to the list this year are UFP Industries (No. 97), a provider of building materials and packaging services, and auto parts retailer AutoZone Inc. at No. 99.

Transport Topics compiles its list of the 100 largest private transportation companies and related industry lists based on responses to an annual fleet survey, correspondence with company management, and public transportation company registration data filed with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

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