Last Updated September 5, 2025
The trucking industry continues to fight an uphill battle in 2025, evidenced by a growing number of major bankruptcies and players leaving the industry over the past year-plus.
Concerning trends like continued bankruptcies are nothing new for industry professionals. This is a market that has dealt with its fair share of challenges in the post-COVID era, leading to what’s been colloquially known as “The Great Freight Recession.”
Background of the Freight Recession: How We Got Here
The Great Freight Recession began in 2022, mainly because of an oversaturated market driven by spiraling demand.
Each year, it seems there is always hope that things might improve. The beginning of 2024 came with a new regime in office and cooling inflation. But interest rates and operating costs ultimately remained high, stalling any potential progress many businesses were hoping to make.
Despite this, there were again positive signs by the start of 2025. Consumer spending was up and there had been a significant removal of excess capacity.
Then, the U.S. enforced major tariffs, elevating operating costs even more and making international business even more difficult.
So while there have been some signs of recovery, such as rising tender rejections and increased demand in e-commerce sales, the freight recession is by no means over.
Trucking Bankruptcies Soaring as a Result
The perpetual barrage of obstacles has inevitably taken its toll on trucking businesses.
Rising fuel costs, inflation, an oversaturated market, and the downward shift in consumer spending throughout 2022 and 2023 quickly put many businesses in a crunch. According to bankruptcy attorney Stephanie Lieb, there was no way around a major trucking bankruptcy crisis.
“When you have all these problems, and then they all happen at the same time, and you’re already in a business that has a thinner margin, it just becomes a recipe for bankruptcy,” Lieb said.
Major trucking bankruptcies first became a mainstream topic within the industry in 2023 with the collapse of Yellow Corp. The loss of 30,000 jobs when the trucking giant went under remains one of the largest mass layoffs in the history of the industry.
Per FMCSA data, there was then a staggering 10% decline in the number of motor carriers in 2024. In the first half of the year alone, nearly 10,000 carriers closed their doors.
In 2025, more major trucking businesses filed for bankruptcy. Dolche Truckload, based in Palatine, Ill., which operated 70 trucks throughout the entire lower 48, filed for Chapter 11 protection to restructure its debts. The same went for major player Elite Carriers and its fleet of 70 trucks, along with Daniel Trucking International Inc and its 58 trucks. The list goes on of trucking companies with large fleets that have filed for bankruptcy in 2025.
Sometimes, filing for bankruptcy doesn’t mean the end for businesses. For instance, Chapter 11 bankruptcy, or debtor-in-possession, only temporarily relieves a business owner from his or her assets.
But trucking bankruptcies typically signal the end, per Lieb—even those that file for Chapter 11.
“Trucking cases don’t typically have a high success rate within bankruptcy; they usually wind up in a liquidation versus a restructuring, and perhaps filing for this small business Subchapter V, they’ll have a better chance of success.”
Looking Ahead: Will Trucking Company Bankruptcies Continue?
Unfortunately, experts aren’t optimistic looking toward the future, with many already ruling out any resurgence in 2025. The number of total trucking company bankruptcies in 2025 is on track to easily outpace bankruptcies in 2024.
The impacts felt from sky-high tariffs won’t be going away anytime soon. Jason Miller, a Michigan State University professor, warned members of the market not to expect impacts from tariffs to cool down until mid-2026.
Plus, credit standards have tightened as a result of trucking companies routinely struggling to stay afloat financially. Banks pulling back from the freight market will make it especially difficult for new carriers with poor or nonexistent business credit to qualify for funding.
You then have the tricky situation involving the increasingly strict English proficiency mandates for drivers. Enforced in June 2025, the executive order states that drivers who cannot demonstrate an ability to “read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, respond to official inquiries, and make entries on reports and records,” are subject to being placed out-of-service (OOS).
While many believe this will lead to improved highway safety, it won’t alleviate the ongoing truck driver shortage. Industry leaders believe the English-speaking mandate will lead to an even greater dip in driver capacity as the mandate is enforced more regularly.
It remains crucial for both experienced and new carriers to not let their guard down in a market prone to roadblocks. This means keeping cash flow as stable as possible, staying vigilant about market trends, and maintaining operational flexibility to respond to unexpected disruptions or shifts in the industry.
Michael McCareins is the Content Marketing Associate at altLINE, where he is dedicated to creating and managing optimal content for readers. Following a brief career in media relations, Michael has discovered a passion for content marketing through developing unique, informative content to help audiences better understand ideas and topics such as invoice factoring and A/R financing.
