Fifty-four Angus-cross steers (297 kg ± 12) were stratified by body weight (BW) to pens (6 steers per pen) to determine effects of supplemental Zn on post-transit growth performance and blood and muscle metabolites. Dietary treatments started 25 d before trucking: control (CON; analyzed 54 mg Zn/kg DM), industry (IND; CON + 70 mg supplemental Zn/kg DM), and supranutritional Zn (SUPZN; CON + 120 mg supplemental Zn/kg DM). Supplemental Zn was bis-glycinate bound Zn (Plexomin Zn; Phytobiotics North America, Cary, NC). On d 0, steers were loaded onto a commercial trailer and transported 18 h (1,822 km). Individual BW were recorded on d -26, -25, -1, 0 (pre-transit), 1 (post-transit), 6, 27, and 28. Blood was collected on d -1, 1, 6, and 27. Longissimus thoracis biopsies were collected on d -1, 1, and 28. Daily individual feed disappearance was recorded via GrowSafe bunks. Data were analyzed using Proc Mixed of SAS with fixed effect of diet and steer as the experimental unit (growth performance, blood: n = 18 steers per treatment; muscle: n = 12 steers per treatment). Individual initial BW was used as a covariate in BW analysis. Contrast statements to test linear, quadratic, and Zn effects were used to analyze performance and blood parameters. Repeated measures analysis was used for post-transit DMI recovery and weekly post-transit DMI and Zn intake with the repeated effect of time. MetaboAnalyst 5.0 was utilized for statistical analysis of d 1 (off truck) muscle metabolites. Plasma Zn linearly increased due to Zn on d 1, 6, and 27 (P = 0.01), and off-truck (d 1) serum lactate increased over d -1 by 20, 0, and 20% in CON, IND, and SUPZN, respectively (Quadratic: P = 0.01). Muscle lactate tended to increase post-transit in CON and IND (P ≤ 0.07) but not SUPZN. Muscle metabolites relating to amino acid and nitrogen metabolism were increased in all treatments post-transit (P ≤ 0.02), and alanine-glucose cycle metabolites tended to increase in CON and IND (P ≤ 0.07). Steers supplemented with Zn recovered pre-transit DMI quicker than CON (by d 2: P = 0.01), while IND had greater overall post-transit DMI than CON with SUPZN intermediate (P = 0.04), and Zn-fed steers had greater ADG post-transit (P = 0.04). Zinc supplementation mitigated muscle or serum lactate increases due to transit and increased post-transit ADG.