                                                                    EXHIBIT 23.1

                          Independent Auditors' Consent

The Board of Directors
Central Freight Lines, Inc.:

We consent to incorporation by reference in the registration statement (No.
333-111795) on Form S-8 of Central Freight Lines, Inc. of our report dated
February 4, 2004, except as to Note 19 to the consolidated financial statements,
which is as of March 5, 2004, with respect to the consolidated balance sheets of
Central Freight Lines, Inc. and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2003 and 2002,
and the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders' equity, and
cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31,
2003, which report appears in the December 31, 2003 annual report on Form 10-K
of Central Freight Lines, Inc. Our report refers to a change in the method of
accounting for goodwill and other intangible assets in 2002.

/s/ KPMG LLP
Dallas, Texas
March 29, 2004

