The main NAICS subsector for businesses that provide over-the-road transportation of cargo by truck is NAICS 484, Truck Transportation. The detailed code depends on whether the freight is general or specialized, whether the operation is local or long-distance, and whether the business is a truckload carrier, less-than-truckload carrier, mover, freight broker, support-service provider, courier, or waste hauler.
An owner-operator that actually provides cargo transportation is generally classified in 484 according to the freight and operating pattern. NAICS 488490 is not a generic owner-operator code. It applies to road-transportation support activities, including independent driving services where the business is providing the driver rather than the cargo transportation operation.
The central question is what transportation service the establishment actually provides. Hauling freight, arranging freight, driving another party's vehicle, local parcel delivery, household moving, waste collection, and oil-field hot shot support are not automatically the same NAICS activity.
Start with the service actually provided. The table separates trucking operations from freight arrangement, driving support, courier delivery, and waste collection.
| Primary activity | 2022 NAICS | Industry | Classification boundary to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local hauling of a wide variety of general commodities | 484110 | General Freight Trucking, Local | General freight is typically palletized and carried in a container or van trailer. Local operations are usually within a metropolitan area and generally same-day return. |
| Long-distance general freight moved as a full truckload | 484121 | General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, Truckload | A truckload movement is generally one full shipment from origin to destination rather than multiple shipments combined in an LTL network. |
| Long-distance general freight moved in an LTL network | 484122 | General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, Less Than Truckload | LTL combines multiple shipments and commonly uses pickup, terminals, line-haul, sorting, and local delivery. |
| Local specialized freight requiring specialized equipment | 484220 | Specialized Freight (except Used Goods) Trucking, Local | Examples include local dump trucking, livestock, boats, bulk liquids, agricultural products, flatbed, and refrigerated freight. |
| Long-distance specialized freight requiring specialized equipment | 484230 | Specialized Freight (except Used Goods) Trucking, Long-Distance | Examples include long-distance automobile carriers, refrigerated freight, bulk liquids, hazardous materials, farm products, and long-distance waste hauling. |
| Local or long-distance moving of used household or office goods | 484210 | Used Household and Office Goods Moving | Household and office moving is separated from other specialized freight. Packing and storage can be incidental. |
| Arranges freight transportation between shippers and carriers | 488510 | Freight Transportation Arrangement | Freight brokers and forwarders arrange transportation but do not directly provide the trucking service. |
| Provides independent driving or other road-user support services | 488490 | Other Support Activities for Road Transportation | Use for road-support services such as pilot cars, truck or weighing station operations, and independent driving services. Do not use it merely because a trucker is self-employed. |
| Provides local messenger or small-parcel delivery within a metropolitan area | 492210 | Local Messengers and Local Delivery | Small-parcel and local delivery differs from palletized general freight trucking under 4841. |
| Collects or hauls waste within a local area | 5621 | Waste Collection | Local waste collection and hauling is classified in Waste Collection. Long-distance trucking of waste can be 484230. |
Census divides Truck Transportation first into general freight and specialized freight. General freight carriers handle a wide variety of commodities, generally palletized and transported in containers or van trailers. Specialized freight requires specialized equipment because of the cargo's size, weight, shape, or other inherent characteristics.
484110 covers local general freight. Long-distance general freight is split between 484121 truckload and 484122 less-than-truckload.
If it only arranges transportation, supplies drivers, provides pilot cars, or performs another support function, a 488 industry may fit better.
General freight covers a wide variety of commodities. Specialized freight requires specialized equipment because of load characteristics.
Local trucking is usually within a metropolitan area and can cross state lines. Long-distance trucking usually operates between metropolitan areas and can cross national borders.
Use 484121 for full truckload movements and 484122 for less-than-truckload network operations.
Household moving, waste hauling, hot shot oil-field work, courier delivery, freight brokerage, independent driving, and construction site preparation can fall into different industries. Revenue can be useful evidence, but no universal 51 percent rule applies.
Local trucking can cross state lines. Census describes local general and specialized trucking as usually operating within a metropolitan area and generally involving same-day return trips.
Long-distance trucking usually operates between metropolitan areas and may cross North American country borders. The practical distinction is the operating pattern, not whether the truck crosses a state boundary.
Owner-operator describes the business arrangement, not the industry. If a self-employed trucker owns or operates the trucking business and provides cargo transportation, classify the establishment in 484 according to its freight type and operating pattern.
Census cross-references independent truck driving services, except owner-operators, to 488490. That distinction matters. A business that supplies a driver to operate another party's vehicle is different from a trucking carrier that sells cargo transportation.
Do not use 488490 as a fallback for independent truckers. Use it only when the primary service is road-transportation support or independent driving rather than the trucking operation itself.
Hotshot is an industry label, not a six-digit NAICS industry. A hotshot carrier hauling general freight can fall in the applicable general-freight industry. A carrier hauling specialized loads can fall in 484220 or 484230 depending on the operating pattern.
Do not assume every hotshot operator is 484122. LTL has a specific network-based definition involving multiple shipments combined on a truck and commonly includes terminal and line-haul activities. A small or time-sensitive load by itself does not make a carrier LTL.
Census also specifically cross-references hot shot oil-field services performed on- and off-road on a contract basis to 213112, Support Activities for Oil and Gas Operations. The customer and service context therefore matters for oil-field hotshot work.
NAICS 488510, Freight Transportation Arrangement covers establishments primarily arranging freight transportation between shippers and carriers. Freight forwarders and similar transportation arrangers are included.
A carrier that actually hauls the cargo is classified by its transportation activity. A broker that arranges the movement without directly providing the trucking service is classified by the freight-arrangement activity.
Local waste collection and hauling is generally classified in NAICS 5621, Waste Collection. Census specifically places local nonhazardous solid waste, hazardous waste, recyclable collection, brush removal, and rubble removal into the appropriate waste-collection industries, including 562111, 562112, and 562119.
Long-distance trucking of waste is cross-referenced to 484230, Specialized Freight (except Used Goods) Trucking, Long-Distance. Local dump trucking of materials such as gravel, sand, and topsoil can be 484220 when the activity is freight hauling rather than waste collection or construction site preparation.
| Classification question | Usually applies when | Boundary to check |
|---|---|---|
| General freight vs specialized freight | 4841 handles a wide variety of general commodities. 4842 handles cargo requiring specialized equipment because of load characteristics. | Classify from the freight and equipment requirement, not simply the trailer type or customer industry. |
| Local vs long-distance | Local usually operates within a metropolitan area and generally returns same day. Long-distance usually operates between metropolitan areas. | Crossing a state line does not automatically make the operation long-distance. |
| Truckload vs LTL | 484121 moves full single truckloads. 484122 combines multiple shipments into an LTL network. | A smaller shipment or hotshot load is not automatically LTL. |
| Owner-operator trucking vs independent driving | Owner-operators providing cargo transportation remain in 484. Independent driving services can be 488490. | Determine whether the business sells trucking transportation or supplies the driver or support service. |
| Carrier vs freight broker | 484 carriers move cargo. 488510 establishments arrange freight transportation between shippers and carriers. | Arranging transportation is not the same activity as directly hauling the load. |
| Trucking vs courier or local delivery | 4841 covers palletized general freight. 492110 covers courier and express networks. 492210 covers local messenger and delivery services. | Shipment size, network model, and service type help distinguish parcel delivery from truck freight. Do not classify every van or small-truck delivery business in 484. |
| Dump trucking vs site preparation | 484220 includes local dump trucking of gravel, sand, and topsoil. | If the establishment primarily excavates, grades, clears, or moves dirt as part of site preparation, 238910 may fit better. |
| Dump trucking vs waste collection | 484220 can cover freight hauling such as gravel or topsoil. 5621 covers local waste collection and hauling. | Rubble, brush, garbage, hazardous waste, and other waste collection services have specific waste-industry rules. |
| Household moving vs specialized freight | 484210 covers used household, institutional, and commercial furniture and equipment moving. | Do not force movers into 484220 or 484230 merely because moving uses specialized equipment. |
| Hotshot trucking vs oil-field support | Hotshot cargo transportation can fall within 484 based on freight and distance. | Hot shot oil-field services performed on- and off-road on contract are cross-referenced to 213112. |
A count for all of NAICS 484 is broader than a count for general freight or specialized freight. Six-digit codes narrow the market further by local versus long-distance operation and, for long-distance general freight, truckload versus LTL.
Company, headquarters, terminal, establishment, and operating-location counts also answer different questions. A carrier can operate multiple terminals or locations, while a sales campaign may require either each operating location or one consolidated company record. SICCODE.com coverage on NAICS code pages is business-data coverage, not an official Census establishment count.
SICCODE.com publishes current business-data coverage on the individual trucking NAICS pages, including 484 Truck Transportation, 4841 General Freight Trucking, 4842 Specialized Freight Trucking, 484110, 484121, 484122, 484210, 484220, and 484230.
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NAICS 484, Truck Transportation, is the main subsector for over-the-road transportation of cargo by trucks and tractor trailers. The six-digit code depends on freight type, operating distance, and in some cases truckload versus LTL operations.
An owner-operator that provides cargo transportation should generally be classified in NAICS 484 according to the freight and operating pattern. 488490 is not a generic owner-operator code.
There is no single hotshot trucking code. Review the applicable 484 general or specialized freight code based on what is hauled and whether the operation is local or long-distance. Hot shot oil-field services can have a separate 213112 boundary.
Local general freight trucking is 484110. Local specialized freight trucking is 484220. Local does not necessarily mean staying within one state.
Long-distance general freight is 484121 for truckload or 484122 for LTL. Long-distance specialized freight is 484230.
488510, Freight Transportation Arrangement, applies to establishments primarily arranging freight transportation between shippers and carriers rather than directly providing the trucking service.
Local dump trucking of materials such as gravel, sand, and topsoil can fit 484220. Waste collection and site-preparation work have separate classification rules.
484210, Used Household and Office Goods Moving, covers local or long-distance trucking of used household, institutional, and commercial furniture and equipment.
Yes. Separate establishments can have different primary activities, such as trucking, freight arrangement, warehousing, or support services.
These sources support the 2022 trucking and related transportation classifications, including general versus specialized freight, local versus long-distance operations, freight arrangement, waste collection, and construction site-preparation boundaries.
This reference can be cited as:
SICCODE.com. (2026). NAICS Code for Trucking: General Freight, Specialized Freight, Owner-Operators, Hotshot, and Freight Brokerage. Updated September 10, 2026. https://siccode.com/page/naics-code-for-trucking