Seven Carriers File Bankruptcy in One Week Despite Freight Volumes Up 43%

Why are carriers still filing bankruptcy when freight demand is up?

Seven trucking and logistics companies filed for bankruptcy protection in the last week of May, even as tender volumes ran 43% higher year-over-year. The filings include four Chapter 11 reorganizations and three Chapter 7 liquidations, spanning carriers in Illinois, Tennessee, Maryland, North Carolina, Michigan, and Wisconsin. At the same time, HelloFresh, GEODIS, FedEx, and Americold announced facility closures eliminating more than 600 logistics jobs.

The wave of failures shows that volume recovery alone does not fix broken balance sheets. Small and mid-sized carriers that survived two years of soft rates now face the cost side of the equation: insurance renewals, equipment debt, and fuel expenses that climbed while spot rates stayed flat or fell. A 43% jump in tender volume means more loads to bid on, not higher per-mile settlements for fleets that locked in contract rates six or twelve months ago.

Which carriers filed and what they hauled

Wisconsin-based Sparhawk Trucking and Sparhawk Truck and Trailer issued layoff warnings to employees as the companies seek a buyer through bankruptcy. FMCSA records show Sparhawk Trucking operates 178 trucks and employs 146 drivers. Company officials told employees not to assume the business will remain open.

Park Ridge, Illinois-based SP Trans, a long-haul truckload carrier, filed for Chapter 11 protection in the Northern District of Illinois on Tuesday. The carrier reported assets and liabilities between $500,000 and $1 million and listed between one and 49 creditors. Federal records show the company operated with 13 drivers and remained an active motor carrier as recently as May.

Durham, North Carolina-based SB Hauling & Crane Services filed for Chapter 11 protection on May 29 in the Middle District of North Carolina. The company specializes in construction hauling, crane services, and debris removal and operates primarily in the Raleigh-Durham region.

M&L Express, a Hagerstown, Maryland-based long-distance trucking company, filed for Chapter 11 protection on May 29. Federal records show the carrier historically operated a fleet of nine tractors and accumulated more than 1 million annual miles.

Three carriers move to liquidation

Elmwood Park, Illinois-based Boost Express Logistics filed a Chapter 7 petition in the Northern District of Illinois on May 29. Court documents list estimated assets of less than $50,000 and liabilities between $500,000 and $1 million. The company reported having between one and 49 creditors.

Saturn Trucking, an Addison, Illinois-based carrier, filed for Chapter 7 liquidation on May 31. The company reported assets of less than $50,000 and liabilities ranging from $100,000 to $500,000. Court filings indicate no funds are expected to be available for unsecured creditors after administrative expenses are paid.

Knoxville, Tennessee-based S Line, which also operated under the name Secure Parking, filed for Chapter 7 protection in the Western District of Tennessee on May 22. The company listed Knoxville as its principal place of business and Memphis as its mailing address.

Chapter 7 liquidations mean no reorganization, no buyer search, and no paychecks for drivers after the filing date. Assets get sold to pay secured creditors and administrative costs. Unsecured creditors, including fuel vendors and repair shops, typically recover nothing.

Logistics job cuts hit 600-plus in three weeks

Meal-kit provider HelloFresh filed a WARN notice in Illinois indicating it will close a major production and fulfillment facility in Burr Ridge, resulting in 254 layoffs. The warehouse supports operations for Factor, the prepared-meal delivery business acquired by HelloFresh. The company did not provide a reason for the closure.

Third-party logistics provider GEODIS Logistics said it will shut down a distribution center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, affecting 185 employees beginning Aug. 31. Company officials said the closure is part of efforts to better align business priorities and support long-term growth initiatives.

FedEx announced plans to close a facility in Phoenix, eliminating about 100 positions. The closure is part of the parcel carrier's ongoing Network 2.0 initiative aimed at streamlining operations and improving efficiency across its U.S. delivery network.

Cold-storage provider Americold Logistics disclosed plans to permanently close a warehouse in Atlanta, resulting in 69 layoffs as part of a broader corporate efficiency initiative.

The 3PL and warehouse closures reduce freight capacity on the shipper side, but they also signal that shippers are consolidating volume into fewer, larger facilities. For small carriers, that can mean fewer delivery points and longer deadhead miles to the next load.

What rising volumes don't fix for small fleets

Tender volumes up 43% year-over-year sounds like a recovery, but it measures load offers, not accepted rates. A carrier running nine trucks like M&L Express or 13 drivers like SP Trans sees more loads on the board but still bids against hundreds of other small fleets chasing the same freight. Contract rates locked in during 2024 and early 2025, when shippers had the upper hand, are only now rolling off. Spot rates have not climbed enough to offset two years of deferred maintenance, rising insurance premiums, and equipment payments that came due whether the truck moved or not.

The bankruptcies also show the lag between market improvement and cash flow. A carrier that bled cash through 2024 and into early 2025 enters the recovery with depleted reserves, maxed credit lines, and vendors demanding payment up front. Higher volumes in Q1 2026 do not erase the debt accumulated in the prior eight quarters. STG Logistics cut $1B in debt to exit bankruptcy in May, a restructuring option available to large carriers with institutional backing but out of reach for a nine-truck fleet in Maryland.

The bill for fleets still running

For carriers that avoided bankruptcy, the lesson is in the asset and liability columns of the failed fleets. SP Trans reported liabilities between $500,000 and $1 million on 13 drivers. That works out to $38,000 to $77,000 in debt per driver, a ratio that suggests equipment loans, unpaid fuel bills, and insurance arrears piled up faster than revenue could cover them. Saturn Trucking listed liabilities between $100,000 and $500,000 with assets under $50,000, meaning creditors will recover ten cents on the dollar at best.

Small fleets running similar debt-to-asset ratios should treat the 43% volume jump as a chance to pay down liabilities, not a signal to add trucks. The carriers that filed in late May had volume, they had authority, and they had drivers. What they did not have was enough margin between the rate per mile and the cost per mile to service debt and cover operating expenses. Volume does not fix that gap. Rate does.