Nashville, TN to Chicago, IL freight

Lanes/

The Nashville to Chicago corridor runs within the U.S.

Direction

U.S. domestic

Equipment on this lane

Dry van, reefer, and open-deck capacity

Carrier availability

Vetted carriers cover this corridor

Marketplace activity

Posted by brokers on the Cargado marketplace

<div class="lane-viz"><div class="lane-viz-mapwrap"><img class="lane-viz-map" src="https://cargado-lane-maps.pages.dev/nashville-tn-to-chicago-il.svg" alt="Nashville, TN to Chicago, IL freight route map on Cargado" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="620"></div><div class="lane-viz-panel"><div class="lane-viz-title">Transit time</div><div class="tr"><div class="trrow tot"><span>Transit</span><b>1 day</b></div><div class="trmi">468 mi driving</div></div><a class="lane-cta" href="https://cargado.com/brokers/get-a-demo">Get a Rate <span class="arw">→</span></a><div class="lane-viz-fine">Estimated drive time by road, split at the border. Border dwell varies with documentation and crossing.</div></div></div>

This corridor connects the Nashville market (Nashville, Clarksville, Mt. Juliet, Lewisburg, Smyrna, and Spring Hill) with the Chicago market (Chicago, Elk Grove Village, Romeoville, Aurora, Elgin, and Joliet), running within the U.S. Brokers post this corridor to the Cargado marketplace.

What ships from Nashville

Freight out of the Nashville market leans toward automotive parts, pharma and veterinary products and machinery and industrial equipment based on what brokers actually post there. You can read more on the freight types pages.

Equipment on this corridor

Postings here run Dry van, reefer, and open-deck capacity. Browse equipment definitions in the glossary if a term is unfamiliar.

Where this lane picks up

Carriers on this lane pick up across the Nashville area: Nashville, Clarksville, Mt. Juliet, Lewisburg, Smyrna, Spring Hill, La Vergne, and Murfreesboro. Nearby markets that feed it include Bowling Green, Cookeville, Huntsville, Muscle Shoals, Chattanooga, and Paducah.

Where this lane delivers

Carriers on this lane deliver across the Chicago area: Chicago, Elk Grove Village, Romeoville, Aurora, Elgin, Joliet, Bedford Park, and Alsip. It also reaches nearby markets like Gary, Milwaukee, Rockford, Lafayette, Madison, and Grand Rapids.

Domestic U.S.

This is a domestic U.S. lane, with no border crossing. Carriers bid on it in the same marketplace they use for cross-border freight, so a truck repositioning after an international load can pick this up on the way.

Brokers post corridors like this to Cargado's marketplace, where vetted Mexico and Canada carriers bid and every counterparty is vetted before the first load moves.

More lanes from these markets

Every lane guide for Nashville, TN is listed on its lane hub, by direction and destination country.

The markets on this lane

Origin market

Nashville, TN

Nashville is an inland freight hub where three interstates meet, served by CSX with a 517-acre classification yard and by an airport with several air cargo carriers. Wilson County, east of the city along I-40, holds a large distribution and logistics workforce.

Industries: Health care, advanced manufacturing, automotive, warehousing and distribution, trade with Mexico and Canada

Intermodal or rail yard: CSX Radnor Yard, a classification yard where five mainline routes converge. 517 acres; 56 classification tracks (operating). Source
Airport: Nashville International Airport air cargo area. Six air cargo companies listed by the airport (operating). Source
Highway hub: Three major interstates intersect in Nashville: I-40, I-24 and I-65 (operating). Source
Distribution cluster: Wilson County, along I-40 and served by the Nashville and Eastern Railroad. 19,132 distribution and logistics jobs and 17,198 transportation and warehousing jobs in 236 establishments. Source

Distribution: Distribution and logistics employers cluster east of the city in Wilson County along I-40, with rail service from the Nashville and Eastern Railroad.

Destination market

Chicago, IL

Metropolitan Chicago has six Class I railroads and is the largest U.S. point of origin and termination for intermodal shipments, with about 50 percent of U.S. intermodal trains passing through. Canada and Mexico are Illinois's two largest export markets.

Industries: Intermodal and logistics, chemicals, machinery and electronics, automotive, food and beverage

Industrial park: CenterPoint Intermodal Center in Joliet and Elwood, anchored by the BNSF Logistics Park Chicago and the Union Pacific Joliet Intermodal Terminal. 6,400 acres (operating). Source
Rail: CN intermodal terminals in Harvey and Joliet; the Harvey terminal is open 24 hours daily (operating). Source
Rail: Union Pacific Border Direct intermodal service linking Chicago with Port Laredo and El Paso (operating). Source
Industrial park: Elk Grove Village Business Park. 62 million sq ft of industrial space (operating). Source
Airport: O'Hare International Airport cargo area, with a northeast cargo campus and three south-airfield cargo ramps. More than 2 million metric tons of cargo (operating). Source

Distribution: Warehouse and distribution space concentrated in the Will County and Greater O'Hare freight clusters, including the CenterPoint park in Joliet and Elwood.

Market profiles describe industries and facility types from public government, industry, port, railroad and industrial-park sources. They name no shippers, manufacturers, retailers or logistics companies.

Common questions about this lane

How do I find carriers for Nashville to Chicago?

On Cargado, brokers post the corridor and vetted carriers bid on it. Every carrier is verified before it can bid, which replaces cold-calling unknown carriers.

What equipment is available on the Nashville to Chicago corridor?

Postings here include dry van, reefer, and open-deck loads. If you need a type you do not see, post the load anyway. Carriers with matching equipment get notified automatically.

Is this a domestic lane or cross-border?

This is a domestic U.S. lane. Carriers bid on it alongside cross-border freight, often a truck repositioning after an international run.

Moving freight on this lane?

Post it to 2,400+ vetted Mexico and Canada carriers, or check market rates built from real carrier bids before you quote.

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