SBA loans for general freight trucking, long-distance, truckload

30,971 SBA 7(a) loans since 2010. What they were for, how big, how long, and how often they went wrong.

Loans made

30,971

2010 onward

Typical loan

$50k

median approved

Typical term

7 yr

Default rate

7.4%

all industries 5.7%

How this industry compares

defaulted within 7 years

General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, Truckload

7.4%

Typical industry

5.3%

All industries

5.7%

Default rate is not a judgement on the industry. It tells you how a lender will price your risk, and how much cushion you should build in.

When borrowers got into trouble

share of failures by year

Year 1

Year 2

16%

Year 3

21%

Year 4

21%

Year 5

15%

Year 6+

26%

Trouble rarely arrives in year one. It arrives when the opening cash is gone — which is an argument for borrowing more working capital, not less.

What this means for your application

A typical loan here runs $50k over 7 years. If you are asking for far more than that, expect harder questions and a longer file. If far less, check which lenders will even take it — many won't go below $150,000.

Find lenders by smallest loan → Check the numbers work →

Source SBA 7(a) FOIA, NAICS 484 Released 2026-06-30 Loans 30,971

SBA 504 lending in General Freight Trucking, Local

504 FOIA record

Where a 7(a) loan covers working capital and general use, the 504 program funds the owner-occupied property and heavy equipment side — a bank first mortgage plus a fixed-rate second through a Certified Development Company. Here is the 504 record for general freight trucking, local.

504 loans since 2010

1,491

$1.6B in SBA seconds

Median project

$1.6M

bank first + 504 second

Default rate

4.1%

all 504 5.0%