12 freight carriers go bankrupt in March

Twelve more freight carriers filed for bankruptcy in March as rising fuel prices further pressure the transportation finance sector.  

These trucking companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month, according to U.S. Bankruptcy Court records obtained by Equipment Finance News:

• Can Trail Transportation filed March 1 in the Central District of California; 
• Serna’s Trucking filed March 3 in the Western District of Texas; 
• Sparhawk Trucking filed March 13 in the Western District of Wisconsin; 
• W. Jackson Trucking filed March 13 in the Eastern District of Arkansas; 
• Dynamic Transport Service filed March 13 in the Middle District of Florida; 
• SN Transport filed March 16 in the District of Puerto Rico; 
• Patriot DSP filed March 16 in the Northern District of Texas; 
• Harlow Enterprises filed March 20 in the Northern District of West Virginia; 
• SP Transport filed March 24 in the Northern District of Illinois; 
• 57 Logistics filed March 26 in the Southern District of Texas; 
• PSS Trucking filed March 29 in the Northern District of California; and 
• NAS Logistics filed March 30 in the Northern District of Texas. 

Truck OEM captive Wabash Financial Services is among the affected creditors, with an unsecured claim greater than $1.3 million, according to the SP Transport filing.  

In the W. Jackson Trucking filing, Pine Bluff, Ark.-based Simmons Bank has six unsecured claims totaling nearly $940,000. 

Ontario, Calif.-based Citizens Business Bank claimed more than $264,000 tied to 13 vehicles in the Can Trail Transportation filing.  

The 12 filings are tied for the second-highest monthly total since EFN began tracking freight bankruptcies in April 2025, behind 20 in January.  

Squeeze tightens 

The spike in fuel costs driven by the Iran war is dealing another blow to an industry that’s been stuck in a yearslong recession.  

The average price of diesel is $5.614 as of today, up 49.3% since the war began on Feb. 28, according to AAA.

Fuel costs have caused deals to fall through in the transportation finance sector, John Gougeon, president and chief executive of Ann Arbor, Mich.-based UniFi Equipment Finance, told EFN. 

“The owner-operators took a look at their fuel spend, and they couldn’t make the new acquisition work,” he said.  

Operators have been grappling with high operating costs and tight credit, and higher fuel prices will “only exacerbate those issues,” he said.  

Higher fuel prices come just as the industry started to build momentum amid waning overcapacity, leading to higher freight rates and improved truck demand, according to an April 10 report by heavy-equipment research firm IronAdvisor Insights. 

However, more carriers have been trying to liquidate assets since the spike in diesel prices, an independent trailer dealer stated in the report. 

“They need to figure out how to make their finances work for the next 50 to 60 days as they wait for invoicing to catch up,” the dealer said. 

The fourth annual Equipment Finance Connect, a crucial industry event for equipment lenders and dealers, takes place at the C. Baldwin Hotel in Houston May 18-19. Learn more about the event and register here.