20 Trucking Companies Still Run by the Same Family Since the 1970s

Twenty American trucking companies that were running in the 1970s and are still owned or run by the same family today. Some are a few hundred trucks out of one small town, and a few are worth billions. The oldest started in 1918. Each entry follows one family through its generations: who started the company, who took over, and who runs it now. You’ll hear how Bill Gully started driving at sixteen in 1944, and how his son now keeps a 1949 Freightliner said to be the two hundred and fifty-first ever built. You’ll also hear how Vern Garner and his daughter Sherri both chaired the American Trucking Associations, eighteen years apart, and why A. Duie Pyle makes family members work somewhere else for three years before it will hire them. The list covers LTL carriers, tank and bulk haulers, reefer fleets and flatbed outfits, from Witte Bros. in Missouri to Estes and Ward, both started in 1931 by founders named W.W. Sources include company histories, Transport Topics, FleetOwner, CCJ, The Trucker, FreightWaves and local newspapers. The American Attic covers the history of American trucking from the 1970s to today, from the carriers and the rigs to the rules that shaped the job. For business inquiries, contact us at: the.american.attic.contact@gmail.com © The American Attic 2026