82 trucking companies filed for bankruptcy in 2026

82 trucking companies filed for bankruptcy in 2026

The freight downturn is showing up in bankruptcy court. We count 82 trucking companies that filed in 2026, from one-truck operators to regional fleets with more than a hundred trucks. The busiest month so far was May, with 20 filings, and September already has 11.

What is driving it

The freight market. The industry coverage behind these records ties the filings to a long freight downturn and, this year, to rising fuel prices. Most individual filings give no reason beyond the petition itself. Where one does, it tends to be specific: Dukay Trucking's filing cited unpaid invoices, a default on a fuel contract and problems with its loans.

Fleets of every size. Robert Bearden Trucking, a Southeast regional carrier in Cairo, GA, filed under Chapter 11 in January with 143 trucks and 128 drivers on its federal registration. It filed in the Middle District of Tennessee, in a joint case with its parent, Paladin Capital, and a sister carrier, Quickway, and the case was converted to a Chapter 7 liquidation in March. Newkirk Logistics in Dallas, TX filed in February with 83 trucks and 94 drivers. At the other end, Jackdollars Transport of McKinney, TX, a one-truck carrier, filed for Chapter 7 on August 31.

Reorganizations that did not work. Sparhawk Trucking in Wisconsin Rapids, WI filed for Chapter 11 in March. In September its Chapter 11 trustee said the company would liquidate and lay off 74 workers after failing to find a buyer. Triple RRR Carriers, a cross-border carrier in Laredo, TX, went straight to Chapter 7 liquidation in June.

September's wave. Globemaster Inc., a long-haul carrier in Bolingbrook, IL, filed for Chapter 11 on September 15, one of 11 carrier filings since September 1.

Where they are

By chapter

By month

Filings since September 1

• Pacer Transport Inc., Arnaudville, LA: Sept. 4
• Truckload LLC (dba Expedite Express), Ave Maria, FL: Sept. 9
• RP Hay Hauling LLC, Parker, AZ: Sept. 10
• A&B Transportation Inc., Lake Elsinore, CA: Sept. 11
• Russ Exp Co., Arlington Heights, IL: Sept. 11
• Jett Transport & Materials LLC, Somerset, TX: Sept. 14
• Globemaster Incorporated, Bolingbrook, IL: Sept. 15
• Xoco Transport, Hidalgo, TX: Sept. 16
• Eulogia Logistics Inc., Hacienda Heights, CA: Sept. 17
• C. Pride Transport Inc., IL: Sept. 18
• Rothchild Transportation LLC, South Gate, CA: Sept. 21

What we counted, and what we left out

We count trucking companies that run their own trucks hauling freight and filed for Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 in 2026, one line per carrier, each matched to a court case. Companies that also warehouse or broker freight are counted when they run their own trucks. Related companies that filed together count as one carrier when they are one business, and a holding company that owns carriers is not counted itself. Freight brokers, warehouses and distribution centers, freight forwarders, last-mile parcel contractors running vans, couriers, truck dealers and repair shops are not counted, nor are companies that appear only in a list of court filings with nothing to say what they do, and neither are carriers that shut down without a bankruptcy filing, including those that made an assignment for the benefit of creditors, or bankruptcy filings by individuals. Chapters are the ones on the court record at the time of filing. Causes are the ones stated in each filing's coverage. A filing date is printed only where the court record or a source states one.

Updated: October 2, 2026

Changelog: first published with 82 carrier filings, from the 2026-09-26 edition. October 2, 2026: corrected the date of Robert Bearden's conversion to Chapter 7 (March 2).

As of September 28, 2026.