16 U.S. Trucking Firms File for Bankruptcy in Under a Month

At least 16 U.S. trucking, delivery and transportation companies entered bankruptcy proceedings between late August and Sept. 21, according to court filings and carrier records reviewed by FreightWaves. The cases include both Chapter 7 liquidation petitions and Chapter 11 efforts to reorganize.

The filings span different businesses, from one-truck carriers to regional fleets and last-mile delivery contractors. They also cover general freight, construction materials, agricultural hauling and specialized transport, rather than one corner of trucking.

Some Chapter 11 petitions show the debt pressure. Bolingbrook, Illinois-based Globemaster, which operates 51 power units, reported $500,000 to $1 million in assets and $1 million to $10 million in liabilities. Louisiana’s Pacer Transport listed less than $50,000 in assets against liabilities of $1 million to $10 million.

Other cases involve sizable workforces for small businesses. Texas carrier Xoco Transport reported more than 40 tractors, 65 drivers and 70 trailers. Florida delivery contractor CLJ Transporting, an Amazon Delivery Service Partner, reported 18 trucks and 30 drivers.

Chapter 11 does not automatically mean a company has stopped operating. It gives a business a chance to restructure, while Chapter 7 generally involves liquidation. The outcome matters to drivers, customers and creditors, but the filings alone do not establish whether jobs or service have ended.

The financial strain comes as fuel costs rise and freight activity softens. The Energy Information Administration put the U.S. average retail diesel price at $6.529 a gallon for the week of Sept. 21, up from $5.454 a gallon four weeks earlier.

The American Trucking Associations said its seasonally adjusted for-hire tonnage index fell 0.5% in August, following a 1.2% drop in July. That index tracks freight carried by trucking firms, though a monthly decline does not explain any individual company’s filing.

Next, court proceedings will show which Chapter 11 carriers can reorganize and which cases move toward liquidation. The broader test for operators will be whether freight volumes improve enough to offset rising fuel and other running costs.