The trucking and logistics sector has faced economic challenges and financial distress over the last three years, with 1,000s of shipping companies shutting down operations permanently and going out of business.
The number of motor carriers with operating authority dropped by 3.7% in 2024 or 13,000 fewer than in 2023, with 339,220 carriers operating, according to the Federal Motor Carriers Association, Fleet Owner reported.
Key trucking industry statistics:
- 2024 motor carriers, 339,220
- 2023 motor carriers, 352,220
The industry, however, had some encouraging news, as the number of newly registered carriers rose by 13% or over 25,000 more than in 2023 to 148,485 in 2024.
But the news lately hasn’t been great as the industry has endured the Great Freight Recession over the last three years, and experts say it isn’t finished yet.
“News Flash: The three-year-long Great Freight Recession is NOT over. The leading indicators that caused FreightWaves to declare the end of the GFR in November 2024, and the resulting carrier optimism is now in the rearview mirror,” David Roush, president of accounting firm KSM Transport Advisors, said on the company’s website in March 2025.
In some cases, trucking companies have filed for bankruptcy protection.
Related: Struggling national trucking company files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
At least 20 trucking and logistics companies filed for bankruptcy in the second quarter of 2025 alone, Equipment Finance News reported. The industry was on pace in the third quarter to match the second-quarter results, as 16 trucking firms had filed for bankruptcy by mid-September.
Major trucking companies have been able to weather the storm and shut down certain facilities that no longer make economic sense, while continuing to operate profitable locations.
J.B. Hunt Transport closing Home Depot facility
One of the nation’s leading trucking companies, J.B. Hunt Transport Inc., filed a federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice asserting that it will close its facility at the Home Depot Distribution Center in Lithonia, Ga., on Oct. 27, 2025.
J.B. Hunt sent a required 60-day notice to its 74 employees at the facility on Aug. 26, informing them that the facility would be closing, according to a letter sent on the same day to the Technical College System of Georgia, which oversees the state’s WARN notice filings.
And now, a much smaller trucking operation has also sent a WARN notice to its employees, asserting that it is shutting down all of its operations.
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Epic Lightning Fast Service shuts down business
San Diego-based trucking company Epic Lightning Fast Service LLC plans to shut down all operations permanently on Oct. 31 and lay off all 116 of its workers, according to a WARN notice that the company filed with the State of California, FreightWaves reported.
The shipping company, which was established in 2013, filed its WARN notice with the state Employment Development Department on Sept. 1, giving employees 60 days’ notice that it was closing down operations, as required by law.
The company listed eight dispatchers, three administrative assistants, and 105 delivery associates who would be laid off by the company’s last day of operation on Oct. 31, in a letter to EDD.
Epic Lightning Fast Service layoff list
- Dispatchers laid off, 8
- Administrative assistants laid off, 3
- Delivery associates laid off, 105
The letter also stated that affected employees will not have “any bumping rights,” but there is no indication that the company will maintain any employee positions after Oct. 31.
“There will not be any bumping rights for the affected employees, that is, employees will not be able to displace more junior employees out of their job positions as a result of this closure,” the letter said.
Company’s next step unknown
Epic Lightning Fast Service has not indicated any plans for the company after it closes, including whether it plans to file for bankruptcy protection.
The company operated 59 power units with 93 drivers, according to a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration SAFER filing on July 30, 2025. The company operated interstate shipping of general freight, the filing said.
Related: 64-year-old trucking company closes Home Depot shipping facility
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