Key facts
- 221 trucking companies filed for bankruptcy in 2026, per Bloomberg data reported by Transport Topics.
- Diesel reached $6.352 a gallon for the week of October 26, according to the report.
- About two-thirds of small carriers surveyed by Truckstop and Bloomberg Intelligence reported flat or falling revenue from a year earlier.
- Nearly 40% of surveyed small carriers said they expected to leave trucking within six months or were unsure they would stay.
- Attorney Chip Lane told Bloomberg he had seen a "massive uptick" in restructuring inquiries, sometimes three or four a week.
- Highway's Freight Fraud Index estimates cargo fraud costs the industry about $18 million a day.
Small US trucking companies are filing for bankruptcy at levels not seen in decades, with 221 filings in 2026, according to Bloomberg data reported by Transport Topics. The figure continues a three-year rise.
Diesel has been above $6 a gallon, reaching $6.352 for the week of October 26. Large carriers can absorb that cost more easily than a five-truck operation, the report said.
A survey by Truckstop and Bloomberg Intelligence of hundreds of small carriers, typically fleets of 20 or fewer tractors and often just one truck, found about two-thirds reported flat or falling revenue compared with a year earlier. Nearly 40% said they expected to leave trucking within six months or were not sure they would stay.
Texas attorney Chip Lane told Bloomberg he had seen a "massive uptick" in trucking companies looking for restructuring help, sometimes three or four a week. Lane called rising fuel, higher interest rates and tough credit a "triple whammy."
Insurance premiums keep climbing, driven by fraud, accidents and even single speeding tickets, the report said. One Michigan carrier was quoted $155,000 to insure two trucks and three trailers after a driver accident. Many small operators rely on variable-rate loans, short-term high-interest loans, merchant cash advances and factoring, which eat into already thin margins.
Highway's Freight Fraud Index estimates cargo fraud costs the industry about $18 million a day. The report also pointed to a pandemic hangover: cheap money and government loans pulled a wave of new carriers into the industry, and when rates fell after the pandemic boom, many could not find enough profitable freight.
Not everyone is struggling. Aaron Graft of Triumph Financial told Bloomberg that carriers without equipment debt and with strong safety records are doing well, describing the market as "feast or famine." J.B. Hunt said in October it would raise prices to offset tighter margins.