Employees of Williston, Vermont-based LandAir, an LTL carrier that serviced the Northeast and parts of Canada, say they were blindsided when they were unable to log in to their computers Tuesday morning and truck drivers were notified that the company would no longer be making pickups.
The 54-year-old trucking company, North East Freightways, doing business as LandAir, had 135 drivers and 148 power units, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s SAFER website. The company, which was originally called Allied Air Freight, was founded by Fred Spencer in 1968.
According to LandAir’s website, the hazmat hauler had 450 employees at its 11 service centers in the U.S., as well as two service centers in Ottawa and Toronto, Canada. In May, the company announced it was expanding its LTL service offerings to include New Jersey, Long Island and New York City.
LandAir is not associated with Greeneville, Tenn.-based Landair Holdings, including Landair Transport and Landair Logistics, which was acquired by Covenant Logistics Group (NASDAQ: CVLG) in July 2018.
While the company has yet to issue a formal statement regarding its closure, a former LandAir employee, who spoke to FreightWaves on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the news that the company had shuttered operations.
Another source familiar with the situation at LandAir said the company had “laid off its entire sales force and client services” employees on Tuesday, but was unsure how many employees that was.
As of publication, William M. Keresey III, chief executive officer of LandAir, did not respond to FreightWaves’ requests seeking comment about the closure.
The company was controlled by private equity firm Corbel Capital Partners, headquartered in Los Angeles. Brian Yoon, principal of Corbel Capital Partners, did not return FreightWaves’ request seeking comment.
The Northeast-based carrier, formerly known as Land Air Express, was forced to briefly shut down in December 2015 after the LTL carrier failed to submit an acceptable corrective action plan to the FMCSA after receiving an unsatisfactory safety rating following an audit two months earlier.
In early January 2016, the company reopened after announcing a joint partnership with New Hampshire-based North East Freightways and submitting a safety-management plan.
What happened?
Curtis Garrett, chief strategy officer of Reconex, headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, said sources told him Tuesday that LandAir’s private-equity firm made the decision to shutter the LTL carrier.
Garrett, who works with LTL carriers, shippers and strategic partners, said he was surprised by the decision to close one of the largest LTL carriers serving the Northeast. However, he understands that private-equity-owned companies are concerned about the transportation market and the economy and “want a return on their investment at some point.”
It’s unclear if the company was actively seeking a buyer. Garrett said the company would have been snapped up a year ago when the freight market was booming, but LandAir’s “window of opportunity was missed.”
“It’s very expensive to operate a trucking company in the Northeast,” Garrett told FreightWaves. “And with rising costs around labor, workers and drivers, the high cost of living in that part of the country and with the uncertainty in the freight market being what it is, it’s a difficult time.”
According to the Vermont Joblink database, LandAir had not filed a WARN Act notice with the state prior to the sudden closure. Vermont requires all employers that are closing or conducting a mass layoff of 50 or more employees to provide a 45-day notice prior to the effective date of a closing or layoff.
This is a developing story.
Todd Maiden, finance editor at FreightWaves, contributed to this report.
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Harold One Feather
If you own truck, redline it; don’t put it in the road. They don’t pay you to pick up cargo, F them
And support the complete conversion to alcohol fueled trucks and electric cargo trains….nationalize that until we learn how to share with each other
If not, cannabilism is coming and all the dogs will go missing….
Harold One Feather
Kick your communist union out of dodge before more closures….workers of the world unite….end Nazi Christians and Jewish Communists control of the unions, make them tell us who they are because both races are notorious thieves….look at Brexit and NAFTA….serving greedy pikers, commie Joos, just rotten leech scum bags being paid for doing nothing
Joseph
With quality in service out the door I think all customers should strike against the LTL companies. They give scheduled delivery dates but don’t adhere to them, I’m paying for second day service and getting 7 Day service .
Wake up LTL services before you go down next.
Carlos_P
🔥🔥 Supply chain is imploding💥 From the global destruction the Democrats caused by cutting supply from the USA oil to the world markets. Global nuclear inflation and sky high fuel prices are the cost of this EV Eco-Nazi Fascisto agenda ☠️🤡☠️
Harold One Feather
Bravo…the USA was always stolen land, and this is what happens, no patriotism, only big mouths blaming folk s like the Jewish Communists and Nazi Christians do all the f’ing time
Danny Burgess
And. There going be. Lot more. Fuel price. Make my pay day. Less I made 30 year ago. I refuse. To work. For less when oil get. Lot more more make thing. Go up I make. Less min wage. Because fuel price. No im quit also. I need. Money from. Governs t they. Osy me sit on my ass. They cause so they. Take care of me. Now. And. I Cabt work for. Fuel. Oil get. Off his ass. Work. As well. There going be. Lot more company they going have to. People czbt pay. Thst s tri. Coast. For product. They. Don’t make thst much. Most. Of every one live osy check to pay check. And. Oil. Greedy. As hell. Texas they drill. 100 a day I know tax pay pay every. Thing. Bush. Got. He done rip amercan peope off. For every ghing. He got. He. Stold from amercan. Turn chemrach. Us. 5. Gal. Thst. Make. Leader here in this country. Bush outfit. And now we know who put. Binden in office. Same as put him self in there every. One scred of bush. I know they should be. He. Have killed. Way. Did. J f k and all his nother I just want know. Is. Amtrax. Thst. Kill. R muted is that whst kill my dad. And rest. Die. With cancer. I really. Like to know this because if. Is. Thst act. Of war. Aginst. People and government. That be act. War. And. One. Up office now. They hunted. They aready show how crooked they are.
steve medley
who the hell wrote that article, i cannot read it and understanding is out of the question
Harold One Feather
Nuclear blasting Saudi Arabia would increase USA profits
Gordon Gekko
If you can’t pay your employees a livable wage then you deserve to go out of business.
Carlos_P
🤡Dumbocrats killed the global economy when they cut global oil supply from the USA in 2020. Nuclear Inflation and unaffordable energy prices destroyed the global economy. ☠️🤡☠️Fckn Clownshow of Leftism at work 🔥🔥
Jeff
It’s hard to take someone seriously with formatting like that. And convenient enough, there’s a comment below that is damn near unintelligible. Get educated, folks.
Harold One Feather
That’s your unionized communists infiltration for you, administration and overhead don’t drive the trucks
Everywhere unionized workplace become communist and don’t work, fake work, make work, but don’t work…no cash flows caused by inefficient lazy communist bums deserve having their company sold to the Chinese