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Landstar CEO reports influx of agent interest post-Montgomery
Landstar posts revenue increase of 18% to $1.43 billion in Q2
Key Takeaways:
- Landstar CEO Frank Lonegro said July 28 that broker interest in joining its independent agent network accelerated after the Montgomery ruling.
- Lonegro said Landstar is waiting to see whether its growing candidate pipeline converts into more agents as carrier vetting tightens.
- Landstar posted higher net income of $49 million in Q2, compared with $41.9 million during Q2 2025.
Landstar System CEO Frank Lonegro reported a jump in freight brokers interested in joining the carrier’s network of independent agents in the aftermath of the Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II ruling.
The Supreme Court ruled in the case that freight brokers can be sued under state law for negligently hiring unsafe trucking companies. The decision unwound what had been a presumed protection in many states by shifting some responsibility to brokers. Landstar has a model that allows agents to be independent while benefiting from the scale and protection of a large network.
“Inbound interest and conversations with potential new agents has accelerated since the Montgomery decision was released,” Lonegro said July 28 during Landstar’s second-quarter earning call. “We believe the value proposition of becoming a Landstar independent agent has never been stronger.”
RELATED: Top brokers envision safer industry after Montgomery ruling
Lonegro pointed to safety and scale as two major advantages he believes the company possesses in the new legal environment.
“The folks who are going to be successful in this environment, in the post-Montgomery world, are those that put safety, security and service high on the list,” Lonegro said. “As you’ve heard us say for the last couple of years, those are the things that we think we’re good at.”
The agents work exclusively for Landstar but have the flexibility to choose what loads to take. Lonegro is now waiting to see if the increased interest will translate to more agents.
“What you’re seeing is an environment where small to medium-sized brokers are concerned about an existential risk,” Lonegro said. “We’re seeing our pipeline of potential agent candidates continue to increase.”
PERSPECTIVE: Post-Montgomery, trucking needs defined standard
In addition to seeing more interest from agents, Landstar reported an increase in the number of independent owner-operator drivers, known as business capacity owners.
“I was delighted to see our net 68 BCO truck additions during the second quarter, the strongest quarterly improvement since the first quarter of 2022,” Lonegro said.
In Q2, Landstar posted net income of $49 million, or $1.44 a diluted share, for the three months ending June 27. That compared with $41.9 million, $1.20, during the same time the previous year. Total revenue increased 18.2% to $1.43 billion from $1.21 billion.
“It really reinforces why we’re doing what we have been doing with a focus on safety, security and service,” said Matt Miller, chief safety and operations officer. “Over more than 20 years in brokerage, we’ve always looked for ways to enhance our carrier vetting with people, process, technology and information.”
Miller pointed out that these initiatives led to the number of approved carriers decreasing 35% to 64,000 in the second quarter from over 100,000 during the same time in 2022. He expects that to continue as new technologies and processes become available to further bolster carrier vetting. Still, Chief Financial Officer Jim Todd warned about the legal environment ahead.
“There’s certainly going to be some element of plaintiffs being more emboldened to pursue these cases [after the Montgomery decision],” Todd said.
The Jacksonville, Fla.-based transportation and logistics company ranks No. 12 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America and No. 25 on the TT Top 100 logistics companies list. He put particular emphasis on the importance of safety.
