Financial distress in the trucking and logistics sector over the last three years has forced thousands of shipping companies to cease operations in the Great Freight Recession.
About 88,000 trucking companies and 8,000 freight brokerage firms went out of business in 2023, data from Freight Caviar revealed.
The trucking sector reported a net loss of about 10,000 carriers in the first half of 2024, according to TruckInfo.net.
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Last year, now-defunct Illinois shipping company Mighty Move Transportation, which operated with 70 power units and 75 drivers, on Oct. 24, 2024, filed for Chapter 7 liquidation in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois, facing two breach of contract lawsuits.
Several trucking companies have already shut down operations in 2025 and some have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Distressed trucking company Turk Transportation on Feb. 11 filed for Chapter 11 protection seeking to reorganize its business.
The Carnegie, Pa.- based debtor, which operates interstate freight services, has 18 trucks, 10 driven by independent contractors and eight by contracted owner-operators. It employs 10 drivers, four owner-operators, and one service provider.
Turk Transportation had an agreement with Love’s Financial for business financing backed by a security interest as collateral. The companies reportedly amended the agreement for Love’s to purchase Turk’s post-petition accounts, allowing the trucking company to continue operating, including making payroll, buying fuel, and paying its debts.
Jack Cooper closes down operations
Just the day before, iconic auto-hauling company Jack Cooper on Feb. 10 informed employees in an email that the firm was closing its operations after major automakers Ford and General Motors stopped doing business with the trucking company.
The 97-year-old family-run business shut down after Ford Motor Co. (F)  on Jan. 1, 2025, executed a 30-day termination clause to end its business agreement with the auto logistics company.
Then, General Motors (GM)  on Feb. 6 instructed its workers to stop loading new cars on Jack Cooper trucks.
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Equity Transportation shuts down its business
Finally, Michigan-based trucking company Equity Transportation Co. Inc. has laid off all of its drivers and ceased operations, according to several sources with knowledge of the situation, Freightwaves reported.
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The Walker, Mich., freight company, which has operated for over 50 years, has not revealed any information about the closure and has not indicated whether it plans to file for bankruptcy protection.
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Some of the company’s drivers, however, were waiting for their final paychecks and others had received checks that were returned for insufficient funds, according to Facebook posts.
Several voicemail boxes on the main line of the company’s website were deactivated, and busy signals were received from calls to a second number.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Safer website’s Snapshot of Equity Transportation listed 100 drivers and 109 power units.
Carriers involved in reportable crashes listed a total of 11 incidents in the 24 months prior to March 16, 2025, with nine carrier’s towed, one injury, and one fatality. The report does not make a determination as to responsibility.Â
Equity Transportation had received a high-risk credit warning from Dun & Bradstreet that indicated financial distress, according to Freightwaves.
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