NEW YORK — Trucking company Yellow Corp. has declared bankruptcy after years of financial struggles and growing debt, marking a significant shift for the U.S. transportation industry and shippers nationwide.
The Wall Street Journal and FreightWaves reported in late July that the bankruptcy was coming — noting that customers had already started to leave the carrier in large numbers and that the company had stopped freight pickups.
Yellow blamed the nine-month talks for the demise of the company, saying it was unable to institute a new business plan to modernize operations and make it more competitive during that time.
The company said it has asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware for permission to make payments, including for employee wages and benefits, taxes and certain vendors essential to its businesses.
A congressional probe recently concluded that the Treasury and Defense departments "made missteps" in the decision and noted that Yellow's "precarious financial position at the time of the loan, and continued struggles, expose taxpayers to a significant risk of loss."
The financial chaos at Yellow "is probably two decades in the making," said Stifel research director Bruce Chan, pointing to poor management and strategic decisions dating back to the early 2000s.
It’s a nationwide company, mostly doing less then truckload hauls. Mostly saw them around bigger cities. Teamsters outfit, like most of the LTL companies. When I first started in the trucking industry it was called YRC, I think.