Environmental Stewardship
Landstar works to reduce the impact on the environment from our operations and to meet or exceed the environmental requirements of regulatory agencies applicable to our business.
As a SmartWay® partner, Landstar is committed to supply chain fuel efficiency and sustainability. Landstar has been a registered participant of the Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay program since April 2005.
View CertificateLandstar transportation services companies are certified to RC14001®:2015 environmental, health, safety and security management systems. RC14001 broadens the scope of the ISO 14001 standard beyond the traditional Environmental Management System to include health and safety, security, transportation, outreach, emergency response and other Responsible Care requirements.
View CertificateLandstar is an asset-light provider of integrated transportation management solutions. Transportation capacity is provided to Landstar’s customers by thousands of independent truck owner-operators, third party motor carriers and other third party transportation capacity providers. Landstar owns thousands of trailers but does not own a single truck. Accordingly, Landstar’s transportation logistics services have no reportable Scope 1 or Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions under the Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard promulgated by the GHG Protocol.
As part of Landstar’s Environmental, Health, Safety & Security (EHS&S) Responsible Care Partnership Program, Landstar is committed to meet or exceed the environmental requirements of regulatory agencies applicable to our operations and to strive to meet other environmental requirements as become known to us. Landstar is committed to efforts to address Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions in our corporate value chain.
Landstar owns over 14,200 pieces of trailing equipment, including almost 13,400 van trailers. Almost all of our van trailers are outfitted with aerodynamic features such as side skirts, topkits and/or undertrays that aim to improve fuel mileage and thereby reduce emissions. Each of the aerodynamic features used on our van trailers are listed on the SmartWay Verified List of Aerodynamic Devices as providing EPA-verified fuel savings of 5% or more when used in conjunction with low-rolling resistance tires (see https://www.epa.gov/verified-diesel-tech/learn-about-smartway-verified-aerodynamic-devices).
In fact, in 2015 we announced a multi-year process to replace our entire fleet of van trailers operating throughout the United States and Canada to meet or exceed standards promulgated by the California Air Resources Board, or CARB, which are typically considered the most stringent state or federal emissions-related standards in our industry.
Landstar is committed to looking for new ways to increase the energy efficiency of new trailers we purchase as well as of our existing trailers through after-market updates and routine maintenance.
Here is a chart that shows our progress in installing aerodynamic devices on our van trailers since 2019:
Landstar also is committed to equipping our trailers with low-rolling resistance tires (LRR). LRR tires are designed to reduce the energy loss as a tire rolls, thereby increasing fuel efficiency and reducing emissions. Since 2014, 100% of our new trailer purchases have been equipped with LRR tires.
We are committed to using LRR tires to replace existing tires, subject to availability at the location where the tires are being replaced.
Landstar uses thousands of remote tracking devices on trailers to help us gain efficiencies in our operations. In recent years, we have replaced thousands of single use battery-powered trailer tracking units with rechargeable battery-powered and/or solar-powered units. As of the end of 2023, 13,034, or over 96.8%, of our van trailers were equipped with rechargeable battery-powered or solar-powered tracking devices.
Here is a chart that shows our progress regarding the use of rechargeable or solar-powered batteries in trailer tracking devices used with our van trailer fleet:
Landstar can have an impact on the environment by helping truck capacity providers who participate in our network to reduce empty miles and time spent idling. Landstar uses technology-based tools that, when coupled with our significant scale, can reduce the amount of time a BCO or third-party motor carrier spends idling following delivery while trying to find their next load. Our tools also help truckers in our network to secure loads with limited deadhead, or a load in the direction of home avoiding significant deadhead. For example:
Landstar also uses technology-based tools to help independent Landstar agents to increase the operational efficiency throughout our network. Geo-positional data from electronic logging devices (ELDs) enables Landstar independent agents to gain visibility into truck position, which is used to help Landstar agents determine the availability of a BCO or other third-party truck capacity provider for loads coming available at the truck’s current destination. Landstar and its independent agents also collaborate to provide load optimization services to customers to reduce miles traveled and increase efficient use of transportation equipment in a customer’s supply chain.
Fuel is one of the largest sources of carbon emissions within the supply chain. While Landstar does not own trucks and cannot control the fuel purchasing decisions of the independent owner-operators and other carriers within our network, we do encourage them to increase the fuel efficiency in their operations. In the truckload sector, there is a correlation between increases in average fleet-wide MPG and decreases in average fleet-wide GHG emissions per mile.
Landstar promotes the use of the LandstarOne® mobile app, with Load Alerts® and Landstar Maximizer® technologies, to help reduce empty miles and time spent idling. Landstar also encourages BCOs to adopt new technologies provided by original equipment manufacturers and aftermarket product manufacturers to increase fuel efficiency. For example, BCOs can obtain discounts through the Landstar Contractors’ Advantage Purchasing Program (LCAPP) on products such as low-rolling resistance tires and auxiliary power units.
In 2023, Landstar reported over 800 million miles traveled by BCOs for fuel tax purposes. The difference in average MPG for these BCO miles between 2023 and 2013 was 0.39 MPG. By improving their MPG over this period, BCOs used 7.61 million fewer gallons of fuel in 2023 than they would have used had they run the same amount of total miles in 2023 but at the average MPG they experienced in 2013.
Landstar has information regarding BCO fuel usage through the fuel tax administrative program we offer to BCOs. The following chart provides the average annual MPG over the last five years for BCOs who participated in our fuel tax administrative program. According to the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE), the national average of all US Class 8 tractor-trailers was at 6.24 MPG in 2020, below the average fuel efficiency achieved by BCOs in each of the past five years. Please note that MPG is influenced by many factors including freight mix, equipment type, cargo weight, routing and other factors.
We are one of the largest haulers of hazardous materials in the United States. We are committed to reducing, and where feasible, eliminating the generation, discharge, disposal or spilling of hazardous materials. All Landstar BCOs must receive a hazmat certification endorsement on their commercial driver’s license (CDL) to qualify with us. Here is a recent white paper we prepared discussing our approach to the safe transportation of hazardous materials.
Landstar’s independent agents enjoy the administrative, sales and technological support of a financially secure industry leader, along with the freedom that comes with owning your own business.
If defining success on your own terms is important to you, then make the drive over to Landstar. Go home when you want, load out when you’re ready. Lease to Landstar today.
Get access to thousands of posted premium loads every day, quick trip payments and big fleet fuel discounts through Landstar. If you’re looking for more, look to Landstar.
Our employees play a critical role in the success of everyone in the Landstar system. That’s why we offer competitive salaries and outstanding employee benefits. Landstar is an equal opportunity employer, F/M/V/D.