As reported by FreightWaves, Waco, Texas-based Central Freight Lines has notified drivers, employees and customers that the less-than-truckload carrier plans to wind down operations on Monday after 96 years.

A source close to CFL told FreightWaves that CFL had “too much debt and too many unpaid bills” to continue operating, despite exploring all available options to keep its doors open. “It’s just horrible,” said CFL President Bruce Kalem.

“Years of operating losses and struggles for many years sapped our liquidity and we had no other place to go at this point,” Kalem told FreightWaves. “Nobody is going to make money on this closing, nobody.”

Central Freight will cease picking up new shipments effective Monday and expects to deliver substantially all freight in its system by Dec. 20, according to a company statement.

A source familiar with the company said he is unsure whether CFL will file Chapter 7 or “liquidate outside of bankruptcy,” but that the LTL carrier has no plans to reorganize.

The company reshuffled its executive team nearly a year ago in an effort to stay afloat, including adding the company’s owner, Jerry Moyes, as CFL’s interim president and chief executive officer. Moyes remained CEO after Kalem was elevated to president in July.

“I think it was surprising that there wasn’t a buyer for the entire company, but buyers were interested in certain pieces but not in the whole thing,” the source, who didn’t want to be identified, told FreightWaves. “Part of it could have been that just the network was so expansive that there was too much overlap with some of the buyers that they didn’t need locations or employees in the places where they already had strong operations.”

CFL, which has over 2,100 employees, including 1,325 drivers, and 1,600 power units, is in discussions with “key customers and vendors and expects sufficient liquidity to complete deliveries over the next week in an orderly manner,” a CFL spokesperson said. Approximately 820 employees are based at the company headquarters in Waco.

Despite diligent efforts, CFL “was unable to gain commitments to fund ongoing operations, find a buyer of the entire business or fund a Chapter 11 reorganization,” another source familiar with the company told FreightWaves.

Kalem said the company had 65 terminals prior to its decision to shutter operations.

“Jerry [Moyes] pumped a lot of money into the company, but it just wasn’t enough,” Kalem said.  Kalem went on to say he’s aware that a large carrier is interested in hiring many of CFL’s drivers but isn’t able to name names at this point.

“Central Freight is in negotiations to sell a substantial portion of its equipment,” the company said in a statement. “Additionally, Central Freight is coordinating with other regional LTL carriers to afford its employees opportunities to apply for other LTL jobs in their area.”

As of late Saturday night, Kalem said fuel cards are working and drivers will be paid for freight they’ve hauled for the LTL carrier until all freight is delivered by the Dec. 20 target date.

“I’m going to work feverishly with the time I have left to get these good people jobs — I owe it to them,” Kalem told FreightWaves. “We are going to pay our drivers — that’s why we had to close it like we’re doing now. We are going to deliver all of the freight that’s in our system by next week and we believe we can do that.”

During the outset of the pandemic, Central Freight Lines was one of four trucking-related companies that received the maximum award of $10 million through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). This occurred around the time that CFL drivers and employees were forced to take pay cuts, a move that didn’t go down well with drivers.

“It all went to payroll,” Kalem said about the PPP funds. “Yes, our employees and drivers did take a pay cut over the past few years, and we gave most of it back, even raised pay over the past several months but it just wasn’t enough to attract drivers.”

While this is sad news for the Central Freight Lines family, we’re sure that many of the employees will in fact find job opportunities with other trucking entities, especially their driver pool.

This should come as no surprise to any company whose business relies on imports from Asia to North America.  Once again the ocean carriers operating in this service lane have announced the following increases.

Effective September 1, 2021 General Rate Increase (GRI) has been filed for all cargo imported from Asia ports of loading, to U.S.A., Canada, and Mexico ports/ramps of discharge.

The proposed increases are as follows:

General Rate Increase – September 1, 2021

USD   1,800 / 20′

USD   2,000 / 40′

USD   2,250 / 40′ HQ

USD   2,250 / 40′ Reefer

USD   2,532 / 45′

USD   3,200 / 53′

We are fairly sure that similar General Rate Increases will take place at least into the first quarter of 2022.  The factors that could change all of this of course would be a slow-down of the US economy as a result of new Covid-19 infections caused by the Delta and other variants, and/or continued increases in inflation that could ultimately cause a recession.  Only time will tell.

Want to gain control over rising shipping costs?  Reach out to us today to learn more.