Loss of DHL contract leads to New York carrier shutting down

The loss of a DHL contract has led to a New York carrier issuing layoff notices to 48 employees. (Photo: Shutterstock)

New York Express and Logistics will shut down after losing a contract with DHL, the company said in a filing in New York state.

The company completed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act filing in New York, citing the loss of a contract with DHL as the reason for the shutdown of New York Express and Logistics in Latham, New York. In all, 48 employees will be affected as of March 31, 2020. The filing, entered into the New York WARN database Dec. 30, 2019, says locations in East Syracuse, Rochester and Depew, New York, will all be affected.

It is unclear from the WARN filing what services New York Express and Logistics provided DHL, and the company does not appear to have an active website.

New York Express and Logistics is a subsidiary of North East FreightWays, based in Hooksett, New Hampshire. North East does business under Land Air Express. Land Air is a large provider of less-than-truckload and truckload direct next day services in the Northeast.

Chris Kalavantis, operations manager, declined comment on the filing, referring all questions to North East FreightWays. The phone number for North East is managed by Land Air. A request for comment left with Bob McDermott, vice president of Land Air, was not returned by publication.

Companies are required to file WARN Act notices when laying off 25 or more employees or closing a plant that affects more than 25 employees. The filing must give 60 days’ notice prior to any formal layoffs.

Economic conditions, insurance liability increases and a general overcapacity in the marketplace after some fleets expanded to meet 2018 demand led to many high-profile closures of carriers in 2019.

Celadon, New England Motor Freight, Falcon Transport and LME are among the companies that closed in 2019. In all, it is expected that carrier closures led to more than 50,000 power units being removed from the marketplace.

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Brian Straight

Brian Straight leads FreightWaves' Modern Shipper brand as Managing Editor. A journalism graduate of the University of Rhode Island, he has covered everything from a presidential election, to professional sports and Little League baseball, and for more than 10 years has covered trucking and logistics. Before joining FreightWaves, he was previously responsible for the editorial quality and production of Fleet Owner magazine and fleetowner.com. Brian lives in Connecticut with his wife and two kids and spends his time coaching his son’s baseball team, golfing with his daughter, and pursuing his never-ending quest to become a professional bowler. You can reach him at bstraight@freightwaves.com.