A MAJOR trucking company in the Midwest has filed for bankruptcy, affecting 40 employees.
The company has been in business for more than 80 years.
Elmer Buchta Trucking LLC, owner Transport Acquisitions LLC and three other subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sept. 8 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana.
Based in Evansville, Elmer Buchta is Indiana's largest bulk carrier with more than 300 units.
Its combined 200 trucks travel a total of 10 million miles per year.
The company has been in business in The Hoosier State for more than 80 years.
He lists between $1 million and $10 million in assets and $10 million to $50 million in liabilities in his bankruptcy filing.
If Elmer Buchta can't be saved, a full liquidation of the business will lay off about 40 workers.
But it is not the only freight company that has faced difficulties recently.
Last month, Yellow filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, laying off 30,000 workers.
MOTHER FORGIGAZA
In what The Wall Street Journal described as “American Trucking's Largest Bankruptcy,” the Chapter 11 filing revealed estimated total assets of $2.15 billion and total debt of $2.59 billion.
Bosses at Yellow pointed the finger at the Teamsters union for the company's demise.
About 22,000 workers were members of the Teamsters.
CEO Darren Hawkins claimed Teamsters leadership “managed to stall our business plan, literally driving our company out of business.”
But the union's general chairman, Sean O'Brien, hit back, saying: “Yellow's dysfunctional, greedy C-suite has failed to take responsibility for wasting all that cash. They still don't.”
But it's not just freight companies that have suffered high-profile bankruptcies in 2023.
The retail industry has also taken a hammering, with several big names closing all their stores for good.
For example, Bed Bath and Beyond filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April and permanently closed all 360 locations over the summer.
It had the same fate on Tuesday morning, closing all 200 stores.
But David's Bridal managed to escape close thanks to an acquisition that has saved about two-thirds of its store footprint.
