Carroll Fulmer Logistics, a Florida-based trucking company that has operated for more than 70 years, is shutting down.
The carrier had 400 trucks and 1,700 trailers. Some 600 employees will be laid off as operations cease. The company plans to offer them 60 days’ severance pay as it winds down.
According to the Clermont Sun, which broke the story, Carroll Fulmer attributes its financial woes to a surge in lawsuits and the challenges of the Great Freight Recession—the deepest downturn in the history of the freight market—which began in March 2022.
The news may come as a shock; on May 15th the asset lender Gordon Brothers provided a $27m line of credit to Carroll Fulmer for asset financing and working capital.
Carroll Fulmer is the latest victim of the freight downturn, but many more carriers will probably follow.
According to channel checks by FreightWaves, many large private truckload carriers are running operating ratios above 100, meaning they are unprofitable and unable to service their debts. The same applies to some of the largest public ones. Heartland Express, one of trucking’s stalwarts, reported a 106 operating ratio in the second quarter, while PAM Transport’s trucking division had a 112.5 OR.
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