Yellow Freight closure thread

Carhauling is definitely not for everyone and you don’t become a good carhauler for several years. I agree with you that much of the equipment is extremely old compared to most road tractors at other companies. In 2012 at the Ft. Wayne terminal I chose to drive Jack Coopers old equipment to eventually get me to where I wanted to be today. If you don’t want to look long term you definitely don’t want to come to Union Carhaul. I thought my 24 years I brought to Cooper in trucking combined with owning and operating a flatbed would immediately make me an excellent carhauler, but it didn’t work so easy for me. 12 years later and a whole lot of learning stuff the hard way, I wouldn’t go back to any other form of trucking.

I wouldn’t trade my Pete for the 15 year old Volvo, but without the 15 year old Volvo I wouldn’t be in the best paying position with the most flexibility of my career.

*Side note to those that don’t know, when that old Volvo Cooper puts you in breaks down, they pay you $32 an hour to sit. Not terrible in my opinion for a company drivers time.*

 

Interesting article relating to yellow and its windup:
(Source: Truck Drivers News)

Yellow Rejects Bid to Revive the Collapsed Trucking Company
The End of a Long-Shot Effort

Yellow rejects bid to breathe new life into its collapsed business, once a titan in the U.S. trucking industry, this will mark the end of a remarkable saga in the logistics sector. This decision effectively shelves a plan to resurrect one of the country’s largest freight carriers and rehire thousands of former workers.

The Decline of a Giant
Yellow’s decline is not just the story of a company’s failure but a reflection of the trucking industry's challenges. Founded 99 years ago, Yellow was a significant player in the less-than-truckload (LTL) sector, where freight from multiple customers is combined in a single trailer. Last year, it reported revenues of $5.2 billion, making it the third-largest carrier in its field. However, its collapse this summer was the most significant failure of a trucker in U.S. history, leading to the layoff of 30,000 workers.

The Bid for Revival
The bid to revive Yellow was led by Sarah Riggs Amico, executive chair of Jack Cooper Transport. It proposed transforming Yellow into a smaller, more efficient entity. The plan included $1.1 billion in financing and targeted Yellow’s remaining assets, including terminals, trucks, and trailers. However, the bid faced several obstacles, such as persuading creditors to delay debt repayments and accept equity in the new venture.

Why the Bid Failed
Yellow’s lawyers cited multiple reasons for rejecting the bid. They argued that the proposal was not viable, underestimating startup costs and overestimating potential revenue. Moreover, the plan failed to secure the support of Yellow’s unsecured creditors, including pension funds owed billions. Furthermore, the U.S. Treasury Department, a key stakeholder due to a pending $700 million loan, did not signal its support.

Moving Forward with Liquidation
Instead of accepting the revival bid, Yellow is proceeding with the liquidation of its assets. This includes the sale of about 130 truck terminals, which fetched nearly $1.9 billion at a bankruptcy auction. The liquidation of other properties and tens of thousands of pieces of equipment is expected to generate substantial cash for creditors.

The Auction Success
Interestingly, the truck terminals, appraised at $1.1 billion, proved more valuable at auction. This underscores the strategic importance of terminal locations in the LTL sector, where buying or building new facilities is increasingly challenging. Approximately 90% of these terminals were sold to various LTL carriers, highlighting the demand for such assets in the industry.

The Future Landscape
Yellow’s plan includes selling its remaining terminals and liquidating its fleet of trucks and trailers over the next year. This move will further reshape the LTL sector, as the redistribution of these assets will impact the dynamics of freight movement across the country.

Yellow’s rejection of the revival bid is a significant event in the trucking industry, marking the end of an era for a once-dominant player. It also signals a shift in the LTL sector, as assets from a major carrier are redistributed. While this closes a chapter for Yellow, it opens new opportunities for other players in the industry, ultimately reshaping the landscape of freight logistics in the United States.

 

I thought from the beginning this Jack Cooper bid was a disaster.

LTL is quite tight right now, and Yellow's competitors have already absorbed the freight. There was no place for Yellow to exist (let alone thrive), in my opinion.

 

I agree that buying it to run as a viable business was a pipe dream, but I imagined they were buying it to sell all the pieces off eventually. The land brought a premium and the equipment will sell for pennies on the dollar, but cumulatively it will be a significant amount. Either way yellow needed to go away years ago making room for companies to thrive who pay modern wages with full benefits. It really is a shame Yellow bought them because Roadway and Holland were leaders in the industry for many years before dragging them down.

 

That's a fair point. If they were just buying Yellow to sell, then that could've worked. But to buy the company to reopen it...not a good idea in my opinion.

 

handful of dead tractors outside of the shop in Columbus. Looks like most of the other tractors and trailers are gone now. At least from the freeway side of the terminal.

 

Some pup trailers ended up in my local Ritchie Bros auction.

 

Well, just when you thought it was over, they are taking yet another shot at reopening the doors, albeit only a workforce of 14,000.


Article is dated 2/11/24 from Freight Waves.

 

And I will never understand why.

 

**Spoiler alert**

The Titanic sinks.