Valuations for trucking companies

With owner operators and owned trucks, focus on Cash Flow. Trucks should be replaced every 4-5 years, bought new and cycled out, assuming long haul 80k+ miles per year, and will cost $150-175k to replace (assuming basic tractors). Do some quick math on the truck fleet to understand maintenance capital. Trailers every 20 years (assuming basic dry and reefer). Take the EBITDA - Maint CapX = Cash Flow number by 6-8x at most. The typical result is 4-5x on EBITDA, assuming they make decent margins and are of size or scale. This is for trucking companies in the $3-5m of cash flow range which are hauling commoditized goods and don't have any particularly special "trick". Less than than, take 0.5x-1.0x off the multiples. Happy to chat more on it.

The only transport businesses that would trade above that are anything of major size and scale ($20m+ of EBITDA = $10m+ of CF) with some kind of "trick" or completely asset light businesses (no company owned or O/Os or trailers). Everything else likely falls in between.

Both. It’s a good time to be an asset seller, not buyer. The LP model is pretty interesting too with interest rates so low. Lots of opportunities on the fringes of the massive industry.