A trucking company in Arcola is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Tuscola — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide trucking companies playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Arcola file. Confidential sale. No upfront listing fee.
Confidential • No upfront fees • Illinois statewide
Arcola market
Selling a trucking company in Arcola
A trucking company in Arcola is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Tuscola — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide trucking companies playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Arcola file.
Arcola is a Douglas County town on I-57 known for broomcorn heritage and the Raggedy Ann story — a tourism-tinged Main Street, not Tuscola’s interchange and not Arthur’s Amish workshops.
Visitor weekends are a side book unless the register is honest; farm and small manufacturing are the year-round story. Buyers from Champaign and Mattoon look in — do not sell an Amish-country multiple that belongs to Arthur. Keep cash businesses on clean paper.
Arcola has about 2,915 residents in Douglas County, inside the Arcola area. Nearby markets buyers already compare this book to include Tuscola, Arthur, Mattoon, Sullivan. That comparison changes who shows up: a buyer who will drive from Tuscola is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.
Planning facts
Typical multiple
3x–5x EBITDA
Typical timeline
6–12 months
SBA eligible
Often — confirm
County
Douglas County
Population
2,915
Metro
Arcola
Nearby comps
Tuscola, Arthur, Mattoon, Sullivan
Closing clock
Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago
Champaign-Urbana, Danville, and I-57 / I-74 towns mix campus, hospital, and farm-adjacent service demand. Academic-year cash flow has to be shown, not smoothed away.
State CBS-1 plus municipal licenses. Campus liquor or vendor rules do not transfer by handshake.
Arcola demand for trucking companies is the customer list and the license path — not the Census population figure. About 2,915 residents is context for who already lives in the trade area. It is not a sale price.
Trucking Company in Arcola
What a Arcola buyer will underwrite on this trucking company
Arcola sits in an Illinois freight and labor map. Authority, insurance, and the yard lease are the business. A trucking company that only works because the seller dispatches from a cell phone will get a haircut.
Trucking Companies statewide typically plan around 3x–5x EBITDA and a 6–12 months process when books and the lease are ready. That is a planning range, not a price for this Arcola shop. Buyers here usually argue fleet age and condition, contract freight vs spot market mix, driver count and retention, authority and safety rating.
Closing clock for this Arcola file: Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. License path: USDOT number, MC authority, Illinois IRP plates, IFTA, and Unified Carrier Registration sit on the entity and do not casually transfer. The industry hub teaches the statewide rule. This URL is the Arcola application of it.
Arcola is a small town market. The first serious call is often an owner-operator from Tuscola, Arthur, Mattoon, not a platform that needs $2 million of earnings to pay for diligence. SBA 7(a) and seller financing usually matter more here than a headline multiple.
Buyer pool
Who buys a trucking company in Arcola
Owner-operators and farm-service buyers. Arthur’s Amish tourism and manufacturing mix is unique in Illinois.
Illustration: a ten-truck dry-van carrier in Will County running contracted intermodal-adjacent freight, a 4-year average tractor age, and a seller who still dispatches mornings. Not a closed sale.
A trucking company whose customers already sit in Tuscola, Arthur, Mattoon, Sullivan is a larger business than one that stops at the Arcola city limit. Tell the truth about the route. Buyers will map it.
SDE recast
How a buyer will read the books on this Arcola trucking company
Trucking buyers recast EBITDA after a market-rate dispatcher and a realistic driver bench. Pull fuel-surcharge years, one-time equipment sales, and any owner-operator who is really the seller’s truck. Fleet depreciation and ELD-era compliance are run-rate. A 3x–5x EBITDA band is for contracted freight and a CSA score a buyer can insure — not a spot-market hero year.
Illustration only — not a quote for any Arcola shop. A trucking company whose tax return shows $227,000 of net profit is not worth $227,000 × a rumor multiple.
Add back the owner’s $101,000 W-2 and payroll tax, $17,000 of discretionary benefits, $1,000 of accepted one-time cost, and $15,500 of personal expenses that a buyer will not run. Then subtract $66,000 of replacement labor if the owner still diagnoses, sells, or closes the books.
Adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings are $295,000. At the planning range 3.0x–5.0x, enterprise value is $885,000 to $1,475,000. Mid-range 4.00x is $1,180,000 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. A Arcola buyer will argue the multiple after they ride with the staff and read the lease.
At 4.00 times $295,000 of seller’s discretionary earnings, enterprise value is $1,180,000 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. That is the planning conversation. It is not a listing-site guess.
SDE line items
Reported net profit (tax return, not the marketing P&L)
+ Interest expense
+ Income taxes (not payroll, sales, or property tax)
+ Depreciation and amortization
+ Owner W-2, bonuses, and payroll taxes on the owner
+ Discretionary owner benefits that a buyer will not keep (auto, personal travel, family on payroll with no role)
+ Accepted one-time or non-recurring expenses
− Market-rate replacement labor for owner work that will not transfer
= Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE)
Illustration recast for a Arcola trucking company — not a quote
Net profit
$227,000
Owner W-2
$101,000
Benefits
$17,000
One-time
$1,000
Personal
$15,500
Replacement labor (subtract)
−$66,000
Recast SDE
$295,000
Planning EV at 4.00x
$1,180,000
Recast Seller’s Discretionary Earnings, then apply a planning multiple for trucking companies.
Replacement labor is subtracted. This is a planning tool, not an appraisal.
Recast SDE—
Planning enterprise value—
Before debt, working-capital peg, holdback, and tax. Educational only.
Enter your annual Seller's Discretionary Earnings (SDE) — your net profit plus owner's salary and any personal expenses run through the business — to estimate a range.
$
1x3.0x8x
Estimated Value Range—to—
This is an estimate for planning purposes only. Actual value depends on lease terms, asset quality, customer concentration, and current market conditions. Request a professional valuation for a precise number.
Douglas (Tuscola, Arcola, Arthur) uses state CBS-1. Amish-country and I-57 interchange businesses have different license and cash-handling profiles.
USDOT number, MC authority, Illinois IRP plates, IFTA, and Unified Carrier Registration sit on the entity and do not casually transfer. Intrastate authority and IDOT rules can also apply. CDLs are personal to drivers. A change-of-ownership that bungles MC or insurance leaves trailers in the yard. Authority and safety rating are the license.
Labor and lease
What has to keep working on Monday after close in Arcola
For a trucking company in Arcola, the first labor question is: Contracted freight and a CSA score a carrier will renew.
I-57 (Tuscola). Cash and reputation businesses in Arthur need cleaner books than a handshake history.
Small-county agriculture plus a distinctive Arthur economy.
Diligence
What a serious trucking company buyer will open
Levers that move the multiple in this vertical: Contracted freight and a CSA score a carrier will renew; Fleet age a lender will finance; Drivers who stay and a dispatcher who is not the seller; Clean USDOT/MC/IRP/IFTA file; Low customer concentration.
Have these ready before anyone hears the name of the Arcola business: Contracted freight versus spot mix and customer concentration; Fleet age, liens, and remaining useful life; Driver count, turnover, and CDL bench; CSA / SMS scores, insurance loss runs, and broker packets; USDOT, MC, IRP, IFTA, and any Illinois intrastate authority; Dispatcher tenure and TMS ownership.
Buyer tool
SBA payment sketch for a Arcola trucking company buyer
Most Illinois owner-operator acquisitions use SBA 7(a). This is a payment sketch, not an approval.
SBA 7(a) loans are the most common financing for business acquisitions. Estimate your monthly payment and required down payment based on the purchase price.
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Loan Amount—
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This calculator provides estimates for planning purposes only. Actual SBA loan terms depend on your credit profile, the specific lender, and current market conditions. Contact us to connect with SBA-approved lenders in Illinois.
Sale steps
How to prepare a Arcola trucking company for sale
Recast this Arcola trucking company. Start with the tax return. Add owner pay. Subtract replacement labor if the seller still does the work a Arcola buyer must hire. Do not treat a spike year as the new normal.
Name who can operate on Monday. List every credential that lets this trucking company pull a permit or see a patient in Arcola, and whether that person stays. Personal licenses do not transfer with the assets.
Tell the truth about the Arcola trade area. Map customers against neighboring towns. Buyers will. A book that already covers those towns is larger than a book that stops at the Arcola limit.
Open the lease and the labor file. Remaining term and assignment in Douglas County. Whether the crew can run without the seller living eight minutes away.
Calendar the notices that apply here. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. Start them at letter of intent, not the week of funding.
Read the statewide playbook, then talk. The Illinois trucking companies hub is the statute and recast teaching. This page is the Arcola file. Confidential consult — no upfront listing fee.
Answers for owners and buyers in Douglas County, including local closing steps.
Illinois trucking companies typically sell for 3x–5x EBITDA. Fleet condition, contract freight vs. spot market revenue mix, driver retention, and your FMCSA safety rating are the primary value drivers.
Your FMCSA operating authority, DOT number, and motor carrier number do not automatically transfer — buyers apply for their own or acquire your existing authority. We coordinate this process with your transaction attorney.
Fleet age and condition directly impact value. Well-maintained, newer equipment with clear title commands a premium. Buyers who need to immediately replace equipment will discount the purchase price accordingly.
Buyers include larger regional carriers, PE-backed transportation platforms, and owner-operators with industry experience. Illinois's position as a national logistics hub means strong buyer demand across all truck types and specializations.
Driver retention is a significant value factor. Companies with low driver turnover, competitive pay packages, and strong safety records sell faster and at higher multiples than those with high turnover.
Most Arcola asset sales file Illinois Form CBS-1 at least 10 business days before closing. Douglas County does not use Chicago’s 45-day city notice unless the business also operates there. Municipal licenses and the lease still need their own calendar.
The first serious call in Arcola is usually an owner-operator or a neighboring shop, not a coastal fund. Douglas County buyers already know the trade area. Seller financing and a clean lease matter more than a headline multiple.
No. The planning multiple for trucking companies is a statewide starting point, not a Arcola appraisal. Buyers in Douglas County still adjust seller’s discretionary earnings, then argue the lease, licenses, labor, and owner dependency.
Service Area
Trucking Company Brokerage Near Arcola
We serve trucking companies owners and buyers across Douglas County and the surrounding region.