Albany, Georgia-based Commercial Shuttle Service (CSS) ceased operations in mid-December, citing a mix of market conditions, insurance costs and aging ownership.
The company had 55 total employees, including 41 drivers, and 41 power units, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s SAFER database.
“My dad, AJ Collins, the company’s CEO, he’s in his 80s, and business had gotten tough, so he decided to shut it down,” Brett Collins, CSS’ former vice president, told FreightWaves.
Commercial Shuttle Service was a dry van carrier that worked with shippers nationwide but operated primarily in the Southeast.
The family-owned company was established in 1981, operating as a tire lumper service for Bridgestone/Firestone with one truck as Collins Brothers, according to the company’s website.
As business grew over the years, CSS’ fleet of International tractors traveled everywhere from Florida to as far north as Pennsylvania and as far west as Texas.
Brett Collins said another factor in the shutdown was that CSS was in the middle of renewing its carrier insurance and decided not to.
“My dad kept the company going as long as he could,” Brett Collins said. “My mother [Melba Collins] worked at the company, too. It was a family business.”
This year has been one of the toughest in the trucking industry in more than five years. Around 10 midsize and large carriers have shut their doors in 2019, including Celadon, HVH Transportation, New England Motor Freight Inc., Falcon Transport, Stevens Tanker Division, GDS Express and LME.
Brett Collins added that many of the laid-off employees at CSS have been able to find positions at other companies, or at least interview for new jobs.
“I’ve been dialing around, calling friends, bankers, helping as much as I could,” he said. “I’ve known a lot of these people more than 20 years.”
D
No truck driver shortage anymore, right??!
Larry will
Never was . That is just the owner flooding the industry with cheap labor. The biggest con is the lease to own.
Lori Neal
You should also look into Velox Inc out of Sheridan WY. My husband had just started working with them…..and boom a week after the celedon fiasco my husband was stranded in MO. Now nobody wants to answer phonea or return calls.
Floyd Brockway
I hope the man does really good. The trucking industry is going down hill anyway. I know I’m a driver and I ‘ve got all I can do to make ends meat. Sorry to see it happen but God bless the man
Leonardo lopez
I’m sorry to hear that I’m just now starting my way into the truck driving industry, I have been a state register pool contractor for the pass 25 years . We have lost our way of to restricting the industry .I need to look for other options. I hope is not a domino effect in all industry.
Joseph Almond
2020 may become grim, due to emerging hyperinflation effects.
It is very wise to work efficiently, purge excesses and be as fit and nimble as possible.
James Bower
I’m sorry to hear about your trucking company is shutting down that sad to hear about your company
Andrea Wirth
We would love to help anyone looking for a job! Not wanting to sound like a pushy recruiter, just looking for good drivers in the Atlanta area. We are a heavy haul company. Our website is http://www.cmitrucking.com and you can email me for more information, [email protected] Best wishes to all who have lost their jobs.
Steve Heglmeier
The problem is the laws on the Mexican carriers are not being enforced. The Canadian trucks have not that I’ve been aware of taken freight other than to and from Canada, which is what the Mexican trucks are supposed to do. I’ve talked to many of them that take freight from Mexico to the US, then several loads in the US before returning. That’s why these local loads are moving for less than $200 and longer runs for about $1 a mile, about 70 CPM less than a US carriers cost.
It’s my thought that the reason the laws aren’t being enforced on the Mexican carriers, is that the US knows they won’t pay the fines or change anyway. So they figure why bother, it’s that same thing they do for the field laborers. If they can get people to work for less than $3 an hour, they just don’t care about how much it’s costing Americans that are trying to pay their US bills.