Heartland Express Inc. Earns 21st Quest for Quality Award

Heartland Express (HTLD) has received Logistics Management Magazine’s 2026 Quest for Quality Award in the Expedited Motor Carriers category, its twenty-first win in the past twenty-three years.

Rhea-AI Summary

Heartland Express (HTLD) has received Logistics Management Magazine’s 2026 Quest for Quality Award in the Expedited Motor Carriers category, its twenty-first win in the past twenty-three years.

The award is based on reader evaluations of carriers across five criteria: On-Time Performance, Value, Information Technology, Customer Service, and Equipment & Operations. The company’s CEO highlighted the role of its drivers, support staff, safety record, maintenance program, and investments in a modern fleet in delivering dependable, on-time service across regional shipping lanes in the United States and Mexico.

Key Figures

Quality award recognition: 21st time in 23 years

Quality award recognition

21st time in 23 years

Quest for Quality Award recognition

Key Terms

on-time performance, truckload carrier

2 terms

on-time performance technical

"readers vote on carriers’ service quality based on 5 criteria – On-Time Performance"

A measure of how often a company meets scheduled times for key events—such as product deliveries, project milestones, shipments, or transport departures/arrivals—expressed as a percentage of occurrences that happened on or before the planned time. It matters to investors because high on-time performance signals operational reliability, fewer delays and lower extra costs, while poor performance can imply execution risk, customer dissatisfaction and potential revenue disruption. Think of it like a punctuality score for a business’s core timetables.

truckload carrier technical

"Heartland Express is an irregular route truckload carrier"

A truckload carrier is a trucking company that moves full-truck shipments for a single customer so the cargo fills (or reserves) an entire trailer for one pickup and delivery, often on long-haul routes. Investors care because these carriers’ revenue and profits depend on how full their trucks run, freight rates, fuel and labor costs, and the value and utilization of expensive equipment—making them sensitive to changes in shipping demand and operating costs.

AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

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NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa, Sept. 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Heartland Express, Inc. (www.heartlandexpress.com) (HTLD) is pleased to announce it has been recognized with Logistics Management Magazine’s Quest for Quality Award for the twenty-first time in the last twenty-three years.

Heartland Express has received Logistics Management Magazine’s 2026 Quest for Quality Award within the Expedited Motor Carriers classification. To determine the best of the best, Logistics Management’s readers vote on carriers’ service quality based on 5 criteria – On-Time Performance, Value, Information Technology, Customer Service, and Equipment & Operations.

Mike Gerdin, CEO stated, “Our professional drivers and supporting office/shop employees embody our “Service for Success” motto and strive to deliver safe and efficient service each and every day. We believe that our service standards, safety record, maintenance program, and investments in our modern fleet of equipment, have made us a dependable core carrier to our customers who demand only the highest levels of consistent on-time service.”

Heartland Express is an irregular route truckload carrier based in North Liberty, Iowa serving customers with shipping lanes throughout the United States and Mexico. Heartland focuses primarily on regional freight, offering shippers industry leading on-time service so they can achieve their strategic goals for their customers. More information about Heartland Express can be found on the company website at www.heartlandexpress.com.

Contact:

Heartland Express, Inc.
Michael Gerdin, Chief Executive Officer
or
Chris Strain, Chief Financial Officer
319-645-7060