The Short Answer
Most major national carriers in North America phased out manual transmissions between 2015 and 2022. The ones that still run them are mostly regional operators, specialized haulers, and companies that buy used equipment rather than new. The landscape shifted fast once Detroit Diesel and Allison partnered on automated manuals, and once the driver shortage made recruiting people willing to shift doubles practically impossible for long-haul routes. Regional and dedicated freight carriers are the biggest group still operating stick shifts. These are companies doing turnkey deliveries, local refrigerated loads, or line-haul runs under 500 miles where an automatic transmission doesn't save much fuel or time. I ran a regional account out of Columbus doing cross-town reefer drops, and my trucks were 2012 Freightliners with Eaton Fuller 13-speeds. The dispatchers didn't care whether you could shift or not because nobody was going anywhere overnight. By the time you factor in breaks, dock wait, and local traffic, the fuel savings from engine braking on a manual barely shows up on the back end. Bulk and heavy-haul operators are the second group. Tanker companies, logging fleets, and construction material haulers sometimes prefer manuals because they give finer control over engine braking on steep grades. An automated manual can hesitate or hunt for gears on a sustained downgrade. A skilled driver in a 13-speed can hold a gear and manage rollback without touching the brake pedal. I watched a newer driver in an automated Mack lose control of his speed on the I-84 Connecticut grade because the transmission kept trying to upshift when the engine RPM hit the governor. He ended up riding the friction brakes for three miles and blew a pad. That doesn't happen often, but it happens enough that some heavy-haul companies still require manual-licensed drivers for certain routes.
Company fleets buying used tractor trailers are the third group. New trucks ship with automatics or automated manuals now. If a carrier is purchasing five-year-old equipment, they're getting what was popular five years ago, and that's still a lot of 10-speed and 13-speed manuals. Smaller carriers with tight margins can't afford the premium on new automatics. A 2018 Peterbilt 389 with an Automatic Eaton Fuller costs roughly $8,000 to $12,000 more than the same truck with a standard manual at auction. Over a fleet of 30 units, that difference matters. XPO Logistics still lists manual transmission operation as a preferred qualification in several of their regional postings. They haven't gone fully automatic across their dedicated contract logistics divisions. Old Dominion has mostly moved to automatics but still maintains a small number of manual-capable drivers for certain dedicated lanes. Werner Enterprises transitioned the vast majority of its fleet to automatics around 2019 but kept some manual tractors in their specialized heavy-haul division. Schwinn Delivery Services and a number of smaller regional carriers in the Midwest and Southeast continue running 10-speed and 13-speed manuals, particularly on drop-and-hook operations where frequent stops make the clutch work minimal. I worked a contract for a dry van carrier in Kentucky that operated 40 trucks, mostly 2014 through 2017 model years. Twelve of them were manuals. The company didn't advertise for manual drivers because they assumed every CDL holder could shift. That assumption cost them twice in two years when two drivers quit after being assigned a manual truck they couldn't operate confidently. The turnaround was immediate once they started specifying transmission type in job postings. It's a small thing, but it's the kind of thing that creates turnover you don't expect.
How to Identify Companies Still Using Manual Transmissions
Job boards don't always make this clear. Most postings just say CDL Class A required with no mention of transmission type. Here's how you actually find out before you commit. Check the equipment description on carrier websites. Larger carriers sometimes list their fleet specs. If you see Peterbilt 389, Kenworth T680, or Freightliner Cascadia paired with Eaton Fuller or Endurant transmissions listed, those are manuals or automated manuals. The Endurant is an automated manual, which is different from a full automatic but closer to automatic in operation. If the spec says "Eaton Fuller 10LL" or " Fuller 13-speed UltraPlus," that's a manual. If it says "Allison 4th Gen" or "Detroit DT12," that's automatic or automated manual. Look at driver forums and social media groups. Reddit's r/Truckers and several Facebook groups for CDL holders are where drivers post about their actual equipment. Search for recent posts mentioning "shifting," "double clutching," or "riding the clutch." You'll find threads where drivers describe their daily trucks and can tell you immediately whether their company runs manuals. This is more reliable than any job posting because drivers don't care about marketing language.
Get the Full Details
Call the dispatch office. It sounds blunt, but calling a terminal and asking whether your load would be on a manual or automatic truck is a legitimate question. Good dispatchers will tell you. If they hesitate or seem confused, that's your answer — they probably don't track that detail, which means you might get assigned either one. Read the fine print on employer rating sites. Sites like Indeed and Glassdoor sometimes have driver reviews that mention transmission type. Look for phrases like "old trucks," "13-speed," or "had to double clutch." One review on a regional carrier's profile mentioned a 2011 International WorkStar with a 10-speed that the previous owner had neglected. The synchronizers were worn. Third gear ground every time you tried to shift into it unless you double-clutch and pause at neutral. That truck was retired within six months after I mentioned the issue to the fleet manager.
Practical Considerations If You're Applying to These Companies
Knowing a company still runs manuals shouldn't change how you apply. It should change how you prepare. Most carriers that still use manuals expect you to already know how to shift. They rarely offer training anymore because the driver shortage means they can't afford to take someone off the road for a week of classroom instruction. If you've only driven automatics, you're going to struggle on your first few days regardless of what the job posting says. The physical difference matters more than people admit. A 13-speed manual in a modern day cab isn't like the old 18-speeds with twin stingers. You don't need to pop the clutch twice for every shift above fifth. Modern 13-speeds use a range splitter — low range for first through fourth, high range for fifth through thirteenth — with an assist spring on the shifter to help you move between ranges. But you still need to match engine RPM to road speed when upshifting, especially on hills. If you're behind a truck climbing a grade and you miss your shift window, the engine drops out of its power band and you're lucky to gain back speed before the next hill. I learned this the hard way on a mountain pass in western North Carolina. I was driving a borrowed 2015 Kenworth T800 with an Eaton Fuller 13-speed, assigned to a load that I hadn't expected to be manual. The grade was sustained, maybe six miles at four percent. I stayed in fifth too long, the RPMs fell below 1200, and the truck began to lose momentum. I downshifted into fourth but had misjudged the speed difference. The drivetrain slammed. I wasn't hurt, but the impact woke up every truck in the passing lane behind me. After that, I made it a habit to ask about transmission type before accepting any assignment I hadn't pre-reviewed. It takes ten seconds on the phone and it prevents exactly that kind of situation.
Why Manual Transmissions Survived in Certain Segments
The economics are straightforward. Automatic transmissions cost more upfront, they cost more to repair, and they don't save fuel in stop-and-go regional work. A driver doing 800 miles a day with 40 stops will burn through a clutch in 80,000 to 120,000 miles on a manual. A clutch assembly for an Eaton Fuller costs roughly $1,800 to $2,500 parts and labor. An Allison automatic transmission rebuild runs $6,000 to $9,000. An automated Detroit DT12 can go 300,000 miles before a service interval, but the initial purchase price of the truck is higher, and the software updates required to keep it calibrated add to the maintenance cost. For carriers doing long-haut runs on interstates, the automatic wins on driver retention. That's why the major players switched. For carriers doing regional work with frequent stops, the manual wins on total cost of ownership. That's why the smaller players kept them. There's also a maintenance culture difference. Manual transmissions are mechanically simpler. A fleet mechanic can rebuild a Fuller 13-speed with basic hand tools and a service manual. An automated manual like the Detroit DT12 requires diagnostic software, proprietary calibration tools, and often a dealer-level scan tool to properly service the shift modules. Not every small fleet has that capability. Some send their automated transmissions out to specialist shops, which adds downtime and shipping costs that add up quickly.
The driver preference angle is real too. A segment of experienced CDL holders simply prefer manuals. They feel more connected to the machine, they can control engine braking more precisely, and they don't trust the computer to make shift decisions in extreme conditions. Carriers that cater to that demographic — usually older drivers or those with military or vocational training backgrounds — keep manuals in their fleet for recruitment reasons. It's a niche, but it's a stable one.
What Changes If You're Hiring or Driving for These Companies
If you're a carrier deciding whether to keep manuals in your fleet, the decision comes down to your route profile and your driver pool. If your drivers average under 600 miles per day with more than 20 stops, a manual will likely cost you less over five years. If your drivers are doing overnight runs over 1,000 miles, switching to automatics will reduce turnover and increase on-time delivery rates. The data from carriers that made the switch consistently shows a 15 to 25 percent reduction in driver turnover within the first year after moving to automatics, and a 3 to 5 percent improvement in fuel economy on highway runs. If you're a driver looking for work with companies that still use manuals, get comfortable with double-clutching and idle matching before you start. Watch a few videos on proper 13-speed shifting patterns. The Eaton Fuller pattern is different from the International or the Mack. Each manufacturer has its own range and splitter logic. Mixing them up on your first day will make you look incompetent even if you've been driving for ten years. I've seen it happen. A driver with 15 years of experience tried to shift a Mack MaxxForce gearbox like it was an Eaton and stalled the truck dead at a dock in Memphis at 6 AM. He didn't speak to anyone for the rest of the day. The equipment landscape is still shifting. Even companies that currently run manuals are gradually phasing them out as new truck models arrive. But for the foreseeable future, regional carriers, bulk haulers, and budget-conscious fleets will keep 10-speed and 13-speed manuals in rotation. They're not going away completely, and they're not going away soon in the segments where they make economic sense.
