A lot of trucking, at least in Canada, is very fly by night. The proliferation of operators and a lack of consolidation is because a consolidated company would need to obey rest limits, conduct proper maintenance, and adequately train employees or be rapidly fined/sued into oblivion.
Why I generally oppose small business. There should be large, niche, and challenger/startup type companies. Small businesses that survive but do not grow are generally surviving by just not obeying certain laws.
My Dad used to work for a bakery that was regularly burning workers due to not updating its equipment. Whenever the workplace safety regulator came along, they cried "small business" and were given more time to burn more workers. When they finally had enough of that and cracked down on the food processors and safety, they very quickly consolidated into publicly traded firms.
