Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (referred to as Knight-Swift) is a publicly traded American motor carrier holding company based in Phoenix, Arizona. The company's primary subsidiaries are truckload carriers Knight Transportation, Swift Transportation, Midnite Express and, since July 2021, less than truckload (LTL) carrier AAA Cooper. Knight-Swift has continued to grow through acquisitions including its 2023 purchase of major truckload carrier US Xpress.
History
Knight Transportation was founded in 1990 by four cousins: brothers Randy and Gary Knight, and brothers Kevin and Keith Knight. The four cousins worked for Swift Transportation, also based in Phoenix, and Randy was even a part-owner in Swift when Jerry Moyes bought out his interest. The Moyes family and the Knight family both were raised in Plain City, Utah, before moving to Phoenix in the late 1960s.[2]
Knight began transporting general commodities from Phoenix, Arizona, to Los Angeles, California. Starting with just a handful of trucks and one service center in Phoenix, Arizona, the company now runs a fleet of over 4,000 trucks and more than 8,700 trailers (dry, refrigerated, and brokerage). Revenues have grown from over 13 million in 1991 to over $866 million in 2011, with operating ratios at or near 80% year after year.