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Breaking News: Another motor carrier abruptly ceases operations amid freight recession (with video)

Photo: Terrill Transportation

Another motor carrier has fallen victim to this year’s freight recession as Terrill Transportation Inc. of Livermore, California, abruptly ceased operations on July 30.

Manny Bhandal, president of Bhandal Bros. Inc., of Hollister, California, said three of his refrigerated trucks loaded with candy arrived at Terrill’s warehousing and storage company early on July 30 and were turned away.

“We did get an email from one of their receiving clerks, basically apologizing that they couldn’t receive our trucks because they were ceasing operations,” Bhandal told FreightWaves.

Bhandal said he was surprised by the news that the 25-year operation was shutting its doors, as his trucks made weekly deliveries there.


“This year has been very tough on a lot of companies,” he said.

Kevin Terrill, president of Terrill Transportation, did not respond to FreightWaves’ phone calls or email requests for comment about the closure. 

After hearing about trucks being turned away at Terrill’s warehousing facility, the chief executive of a trucking company based out of the Northwest said he called Kevin Terrill, who confirmed the news his company was shuttering operations immediately.

“He [Kevin] said rate concessions on both the trucking and warehousing side, driver wages being up and the tough environment to do business in California were to blame for the closure,” the trucking company executive, who did not want to be named, told FreightWaves.


According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s SAFER website, Terrill Trucking had 30 trucks and 36 company drivers. It also had 12 owner-operators. 

This is the seventh major closure in 2019. The others were NEMF, Falcon, Williams Trucking of Dothan, Alabama, Indiana-based A.L.A., Starlite Trucking and LME.

This is a developing story.

34 Comments

  1. Ken Wu

    “Freight Recession” huh? Yeah, sure. try a REAL recession and freight is signalling it for all to see. An industry that big which serves the entire economy is a bellwether.

    1. Valerie

      I like to go with data. The data in the freight sector suggests it is down hill. This sector is indeed a bellwether for the economy at large. So it is not a surprise that those businesses dependent on it will start to show stress signal especially if they had holes in their business model to begin with – usually when business is good, its easy to ignore those things.
      As for the economy at large – I would concur with you:
      Retail jobs have been sliding for more than six months and the goods producing part of GDP including construction has been weak.
      I hope the Feds know what they are doing, but I for one have not gotten this far by sticking my head in the sand in the hopes that the signs are false.

  2. John Nagy Jr

    As a broker myself, I respectfully would like to add a comment to this thread.
    Straight to the point now, and call it what you want, My small (kept that way) brokerage with some but very little overhead (kept that way) also no big fancy offices (kept that way) where the lease cost are getting passed on to “you know who” and so many other “business luxuries” that many brokers do without needing to do passing it on to higher rates etc.
    Simple, owner operators here, shippers here, and any others that are interested, send a note, I will send back application for drivers interested in getting a lot more % of what they do working with us, shippers, send a note, and if you provide detailed shipping needs on shipments, I will send you back a very favorable quote, you will find that getting us to do your shipping will have huge savings on those needs moving forward.
    Now, how is the shipper going to save money and drivers make money, dont make sense, well makes plenty of sense when the model is “Profit Sharing”, cutting our profit per loads to huge savings for shippers and huge earning for drivers, will actually prove to be more profits in long run for our company, think about it, will make plenty of sense.
    Thank you all for reading and the very best of future savings and earnings to all involved!
    contact [email protected] for application, quotes and/or information

    1. Zoinkd goodly

      You maybe a well intentioned broker; however, I’m here to say that Uber Freight is here to put you out of business and there will be nothing you can do about it. You exist mainly to suck money out of the revenue stream, while performing no more of a function than what a simple App could do.

      1. Big Red

        Zoinkd Goodly, Uber continues to hemorrhage money to gain market share how long can this go on? And if Uber and companies like them are so much better than freight brokerages How come they hire brokers? don’t get me wrong Uber and like companies have great technology platforms. U also have to account for shippers whose freight is less than desirable for most carriers. You need a broker to talk the carrier into hauling it. I have a customer who had Uber come in and demonstrate thier platform. I was very happy to find out that Uber platform did not work with customers business mode. According to Industry analysts 2018 info, freight platforms like Uber will account for 6-8% of market share for the foreseeable future.

  3. Noble1

    quote :
    “Bob
    says:
    07/31/2019 at 3:00 pm
    I work at a brokerage and can confirm that there are definitely some trucking companies that have great service and take pride in their work. However, I do spend the majority of my day babysitting drivers and trying to communicate load details/changes with unresponsive or combative dispatchers. If I weren’t playing middle man with some of these unorganized trucking companies the shippers would be left completely in the dark. That is not to say driving is easy or carriers aren’t doing most of the work, but it helps explain why the need for brokerages still exists. ”

    LISTEN TO HIM !!!

    He’s telling you straight out what the major problem is in the trucking industry ! A lack of organization !!!

    If drivers understood this , I mean really understood this then they could “organize” and literally own and control the trucking industry !

    I have been advocating this all along . UNITE ! And bring all trucking operations in house under one roof ! Stop complaining without offering realistic solutions . And the only place you will truly be heard is if you UNITE and create your own organization !

    I have analyzed the industry from the bottom up . First one must be willing to walk in the driver’s shoes . Most dispatchers haven’t ! Then you need to walk in a freight broker’s shoes , and a Carrier’s . It takes organizational skills , understanding , critical thinking , innovation , and an deep economic understanding .

    There is no reason for drivers to lack skill , nor a dispatcher , nor a broker , nor a carrier , and certainly not management right up to the executive and board of directors ! However, they all lack the ultimate ingredient and that’s why most drivers are painted as the “problem” . The driver is the industry’s scapegoat for a lack of savoir fair .

    Then it leads to politics of which carriers united and created associations which are public relations lobby groups .

    Drivers need to create their own association for ALL drivers . With a little innovation and reorganizing the pieces of the puzzle through a clever structure you can literally control and own this industry . It takes a lot of savvy . YOU collectively have this ! You have knowledge and experience ! You just need to get together and stop fighting among yourselves ! Your division is your weakness , and that’s why you’re simply treated as a tool and nothing else .

    While I believe drivers are an incredible asset that have been and are misunderstood and exploited , drivers need to wake up and commit to creating the change they desire BEFORE they are replaced by a machine .

    The clock is ticking . The trucking industry & transportation sector contains power beyond belief , yet extremely vulnerable . Just like your “mind” ! When are you going to realize this and take a stand ? Together you are strong , divided you are weak . So UNITE and create the change you long for and desire !

    Through a well thought out structured driver organization you can own the transportation sector . You can take this sector and industry by storm ! Stop thinking like a slave and grow up into the leader you have been created to be !

    In my humble opinion ………………….

    1. PooMandy

      The day you get an autonomous truck to perform multiple LTL deliveries in Newark, Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens, is the day monkeys fly out of my butt.

  4. Steven

    Higher insurance cost
    ELD mandate
    Super cheap rates and super cheap carriers.
    Mega carriers fight to death against small O/O.
    Very soon self driving truck to be added to this list.
    More small carriers to follow in bankruptcy.

  5. Troy

    I’m sick of hearing about the “Blood bath of 2019” and “freight recession”. Did anyone actually believe that the freight market of a year ago would just maintain indefinitely? Volumes and rates may be down from a year ago, but it simply righted itself. The ebb and flow of freight goes way beyond a 12 month period. If you are managing your company and customers correctly, you are not closing your doors.

    1. willy Maurer

      Many shippers took it on the chin in 2018. Freight rates were over inflated, in my opinion, by a hysteria created by the “fear” of the ELD issue…many are now looking for literal and metaphorical payback…

Comments are closed.

Clarissa Hawes

Clarissa has covered all aspects of the trucking industry for 16 years. She is an award-winning journalist known for her investigative and business reporting. Before joining FreightWaves, she wrote for Land Line Magazine and Trucks.com. If you have a news tip or story idea, send her an email to [email protected].