The continuing saga of U.S. trucking and logistics industry financial distress has not ended, as more shipping companies have filed for bankruptcy protection this year, seeking to restructure their debts.
Confidence that the trucking industry would improve in 2025 was led by an American Trucking Association annual freight forecast in January that projected truck volumes would grow this year by 1.6%.
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That ambitious prediction came after the trucking sector reported a net loss of about 10,000 carriers in the first half of 2024, according to TruckInfo.net, and about 88,000 trucking companies and 8,000 freight brokerage firms ceased operating in 2023, Freight Caviar data revealed.
Related: Another major trucking company files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Freight demand, however, faced an unseasonal decline in April 2025, “likely presaging further deterioration in the coming months,” according to an April 23 State of the Industry Report, produced by Ryder and FreightWaves.
Truckload market has significant slowdown
The truckload market experienced a significant slowdown, and the intermodal sector is on a steep decline and will likely dip below 2024 levels by the end of April, the report said.Â
The decline is unseasonal, since the beginning of the second quarter usually sees demand slowly ramp up in anticipation of summer inventories and produce deliveries, according to the report.
It is likely that truckload volumes will only fall further from this point forward, the report said, as import bookings have fallen off a cliff in recent weeks, which will first impact drayage markets and intermodal demand before showing up in truckload volume data.
Several trucking companies have already declared bankruptcy this year, including AZA Transportation Inc., which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 14 to reorganize its business.
The Mount Prospect, Ill., trucking and freight transportation company filed its Subchapter V petition, listing $100,000 to $500,000 in assets and $500,000 to $1 million in liabilities.
The company’s creditors include merchant cash advance lenders, equipment finance companies for their trucks, fuel vendors, and tollway authorities.
Transportation and logistics company Balkan Express and its affiliate Balkan Logistics filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to restructure their debts on April 30. Balkan Express operates 159 power units and employs about 166 drivers who ship general freight, including beverages.
Three trucking companies that are not affiliated filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 7, 2025, including C&C Freight Network of Braselton, Ga.; Dedham, Mass.-based Best Choice Trucking LLC; and Memphis, Tenn.-based Best Logistics Inc., which all filed for bankruptcy to restructure their debts.
Elite Carriers files for bankruptcy.
Image source: Shutterstock
Elite Carriers to reorganize in bankruptcy
Most recently, major trucking and logistics company Elite Carriers and four affiliates filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to restructure their debts.
Related: Key healthcare company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
The Merrill, Wis.-based company and affiliates ECI Inc., KLE Equipment Leasing LLC, Olson Equipment Leasing LLC, and Wausau Office Space LLC filed their petition to reorganize on May 21 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, listing $1 million to $10 million in assets and liabilities in its petition.
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The debtor indicated that funds would be available to distribute to unsecured creditors after the restructuring process.
Elite Carriers, which was established in 1999, operates 70 trucks and employs 70 drivers, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s SAFER website.Â
The company transports goods from the Midwest to the East Coast and Canada, according to its website.
Related: Classic auto parts company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
