Estes Express Lines to acquire two New England Motor Freight affiliates for $15 million

Richmond, Virginia-based Estes Express Lines has submitted a $15 million bid to buy two affiliates of bankrupt New England Motor Freight – Eastern Freight Ways Inc. and Carrier Industries Inc. – on April 26.

If the bid is successful, Estes –a former competitor of NEMF in the less-than-truck-load segment, said the equipment would boost its flatbed and dedicated transport businesses.

A Chapter 11 NEMF hearing is scheduled for May 16 to approve the winning bid, Estes said.

Estes has nearly 6,900 trucks and more than 7,300 drivers. NEMF had nearly 1,300 trucks and nearly 1,500 drivers before its bankruptcy filing.

Estes seeks to acquire Eastern, a South Brunswick, New Jersey-based company that provides truckload services within the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, along with Carrier, a third-party logistics company, based out of North Brunswick, New Jersey.

The Chapter 11 bankruptcy of NEMF, a Elizabeth, New Jersey-based company, came as a shock to many less-than-truck-load carriers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states.

NEMF ceased operations in mid-February after reporting two years of significant financial losses, the company said.