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Another trucking company announces its closure today

Image: Ready Trucking

Ellenwood, Georgia-based Ready Trucking will cease operations effective August 30, 2019 according to CDL LIFE.

FreightWaves attempted to reach someone with the company to confirm its closure, but was unsuccessful.

Ready Trucking’s Google listing shows the entity as “permanently closed.” Corporate Google listings are typically managed by a member of a company at Google My Business.

Ready Trucking has 108 power units, 91 drivers and recorded more than 5.6 million miles in 2018 according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s SAFER database. The family-owned company was established in metro Atlanta in 1968, operating as a local cartage company. The carrier began to offer regional service following industry deregulation in 1980.


News of Ready Trucking’s closure follows another announcement today, August 28, after private equity-held HVH transportation (344 power units) ceased operations abruptly.

2019 has been the worst year of profitability in the trucking industry in over five years. Even the downturn of 2016 was not nearly as painful in terms of operating losses.

Truckload operating ratio: Past five years. SONAR: OPRAT.VCF
SONAR users can interact with this dashboard by clicking here.

According to operating ratios across the industry, the average dry-van truckload carrier has teetered on losing money every month in 2019.

Operating ratios (OR) measure operating costs in relation to revenues. A high operating ratio is considered a bad thing (a 100 is an operating break-even, anything above one-hundred is a loss and anything below represents operating profit). OR will come before any debt servicing, distribution, or taxes. 


This data is compiled based on financial reports from over 220 truckload fleet profiles, representing over 70,000 trucks, ranging from mid-sized (75 trucks to enterprise 7,000 trucks). The operating KPI data is aggregated in partnership with the Truckload Carrier Association’s Truckload Indexes and available exclusively on SONAR

Nine mid-size and large carriers have shut their doors in 2019 including HVH, NEMF, Falcon, and LME. 

Several carriers have called it quits in 2019 as excess capacity, unfavorable spot rates and cost inflation have weighed on profitability.

Trucking Failures – EXIT.USA – SONAR



24 Comments

  1. Juan Garcia

    We sure have a cleaner enviroment 🤣🤣,the EPA has made it so hard on the little guy,IF we didn t have the outrageous prices and outrageous maintenance on the unreliable pieces of junk,it wouldn t be that bad,but we are in the eye of the perfect storm,which,by the way we had nothing to do to create it, if you say it is the odious and despicable government’s fault,then I d say you are right

  2. Elvis Gomez

    Wonder if we ever gonna see a MAJOR carrier to go under? Still keeping my fingers crossed!!!!

    DEFINITELY a MUST TO GET OUT OF THIS LAME INDUSTRY!

  3. David Espinoza

    Yes sir the rates are low and operation maintenance on one truck it’s getting higher parts and labor outrageous $130 an hour at most diesel repair facilities

    1. Don Johnson

      With ate crooked Lawyers, greedy and now even thinking, pushing I inurance rates so high. Als government regulations ant tons of paperwork. The trucking Industry is hurting. Who is going to deliver your needed products when they shut down? Regulations need to be so tight on drivers in these 4 wheelers as on truck drivers. Every one needs to be tested the same way as truck drivers from eyes to overall health.

Comments are closed.

Todd Maiden

Based in Richmond, VA, Todd is the finance editor at FreightWaves. Prior to joining FreightWaves, he covered the TLs, LTLs, railroads and brokers for RBC Capital Markets and BB&T Capital Markets. Todd began his career in banking and finance before moving over to transportation equity research where he provided stock recommendations for publicly traded transportation companies.