Trucking industry experts believe the Great Freight Recession, which began in 2022 and continued through 2024, will begin to subside in 2025.
After two years of declines, truck volumes are expected to grow by 1.6% in 2025, the American Trucking Associations projected in a January 2025 joint report with S&P Global Market Intelligence.
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But plenty of damage has already been done. Economic problems in the trucking industry over the last three years caused a lot of distress and forced thousands of companies to permanently close operations.
Related: Major auto shipping company shuts down, no bankruptcy yet
Industry distress led to 88,000 trucking companies and 8,000 freight brokerage firms going out of business in 2023, according to data from Freight Caviar.
Problems continued into 2024 as the trucking sector had a net loss of about 10,000 carriers in the first half of 2024, TruckInfo.net reported.
Fallout from the Great Freight Recession has carried over to 2025 as historic auto-hauling company Jack Cooper shut down its business on Feb. 10 after major auto manufacturers Ford (F) and General Motors (GM) terminated their car hauling agreements with the company.
Another iconic trucking company McKevitt Trucking, which opened as a one-truck business in 1948, shut down operations on Oct. 31 for unknown reasons, FreightWaves reported.
Trucking companies file Chapter 7 liquidation
In 2024, 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.
The Mighty Move liquidation came just three weeks after Irving, Texas-based Sunset Logistics on Oct. 3, 2024, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy to liquidate its assets after ceasing operations. The company blamed a bad economy, low freight rates, and rising costs.
The logistics company also faced a lawsuit filed by its factoring company Porter Capital, which sought to recover $5 million in debt from a defaulted recourse factoring agreement.
Another logistics company, freight forwarder company Boateng Logistics, on Feb. 22, 2024, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, ceased operations, and liquidated after facing financial distress.
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Turk Transportation files bankruptcy to reorganize
And now, distressed trucking company Turk Transportation filed for Chapter 11 protection on Feb. 11 seeking to reorganize its business.
Related: Huge national car wash chain files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
The Carnegie, Pa.-based company, which operates interstate freight services, listed $500,000 to $1 million in assets and $1 million to $10 million in liabilities in its petition filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
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Turk Transportation's largest unsecured creditors include TPine Leasing, owed over $398,000; Northland Capital, owed over $240,000; and Hitachi, over $249,000.
The debtor has a fleet of 18 trucks, 10 driven by independent contractors and eight by contracted owner-operators. It employs 10 drivers, four owner-operators, and one service provider, FreightWaves reported.
Turk Transportation had a previous agreement with Love's Financial for business financing backed by a security interest as collateral. The companies reportedly amended their 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.
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