Equity

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Share Repurchases [Abstract]

Stockholders' Equity Note Disclosure [Text Block]

Equity

In September, 2001, the Board of Directors of the Company authorized a program to repurchase 15.4 million shares, adjusted for stock splits, of the Company’s common stock in open market or negotiated transactions using available cash, cash equivalents and investments.  The authorization remains open at September 30, 2011 and has no expiration date. There were 2.2 million shares repurchased in the open market during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 of which $28.8 million was paid for in the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2011 and $0.8 million was paid subsequent to September 30, 2011. The repurchased shares were accounted for as treasury stock and are available to be reissued. Shares purchased under the program prior to 2011 were retired. No shares were repurchased during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010. The repurchase program may be suspended or discontinued at any time without prior notice.  Approximately 4.3 million shares remain authorized for repurchase under the program as of September 30, 2011.

On July 11, 2011, a Special Meeting of Stockholders of Heartland Express, Inc. was held, at which meeting the approval of the Heartland Express, Inc. 2011 Restricted Stock Award Plan (the "Plan") was ratified. The Plan will make available up to 0.9 million shares for the purpose of making restricted stock grants to eligible officers and employees of the Company. As of the date of filing this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, there were no grants of shares under the Plan.