After 13 years in business, 101 Transport Inc. of Hudson, Wisconsin, has ceased operations, citing skyrocketing insurance rates and maintenance costs as the main reasons behind the decision to close.
Tom Dahlberg, owner of 101 Transport, said the death knell for his company was when his insurance rates spiked 70% compared with the previous year after one of his trucks was involved in a serious crash in Utah in 2019.
“Insurance is making it untenable to do business,” Dahlberg told FreightWaves. “The government has got to step in on this issue before more companies go out of business.”
Dahlberg had 72 company drivers and the same number of power units until about six months ago, when he was forced to let his company drivers go and return the equipment in an effort to keep the carrier afloat.
“We were just trying to trim costs and maintenance expenses, which were out of this world,” Dahlberg told FreightWaves. “It would cost us around $10,000 to $15,000 every time one of our trucks was in the shop.”
At the time of the company’s closure, he had 32 owner-operators hauling contract freight for 101 Transport. He said drivers were notified of the company’s closure on Feb. 29.
The only upside is that a larger carrier has agreed to hire Dahlberg’s owner-operators, pending the outcome of the drivers’ background and safety checks.
As of press time on Monday, Dahlberg said he wasn’t able to reveal the name of that carrier.
“Hopefully, we will be able to name the carrier once we have everything in place and get everyone rolling by Wednesday,” Dahlberg told FreightWaves.
The 40-year trucking veteran said he isn’t sure what his next steps will be as he winds down operations.
“I guess I will be looking for another opportunity,” Dahlberg said.
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