At least 16 trucking, delivery and transportation companies entered bankruptcy proceedings between late August and Sept. 21, according to federal court filings and carrier records reviewed by FreightWaves. The filings include Chapter 11 cases involving Globemaster Incorporated, Xoco Transport, Jett Transport & Materials, CLJ Transporting, Mill Creek Logistics-Illinois, RP Hay Hauling, Truckload LLC and Pacer Transport, while several smaller carriers filed Chapter 7 cases that typically involve liquidation rather than reorganization. Among the largest, Hidalgo, Texas-based Xoco Transport filed for Chapter 11 on Sept. 16 with more than 40 tractors, 65 drivers and 70 trailers, and Bolingbrook, Illinois-based Globemaster filed on Sept. 15 reporting assets of between $500,000 and $1 million against liabilities of $1 million to $10 million. Pacer Transport, based in Arnaudville, Louisiana, filed Sept. 4 with less than $50,000 in assets and between $1 million and $10 million in liabilities, one of the widest asset-to-liability disparities among the recent filings. The geographically widespread cases come as carriers continue navigating a freight environment marked by rising diesel fuel prices and other elevated operating costs, with financial pressure surfacing across general freight, last-mile, agricultural and specialized trucking.
