US Trucking Bankruptcies Rise as Diesel Tops $6 a Gallon

A wave of bankruptcy filings is moving through the US trucking industry as record diesel prices collide with rising insurance, maintenance and equipment costs. At least 16 trucking, delivery and transportation companies entered bankruptcy proceedings between late August and September 21, 2026, according to federal court filings reviewed by the trade publication FreightWaves. A FOX Business review of court documents published on October 9 confirmed that at least eight of those carriers sought Chapter 11 protection in September alone. Another carrier, Chicago-based Midwest Expedited Co., followed on October 6, which brings the known total to at least 17 filings in about six weeks.

The filings stretch across Texas, Illinois, Florida, California, Arizona, Louisiana and Kansas. They cover general freight, last-mile delivery, farm hauling and construction materials. The eight Chapter 11 cases, which allow a company to keep operating while it restructures its debts, involve Pacer Transport of Louisiana (filed September 4), Florida-based Truckload LLC, which operates as Expedite Express (September 9), Arizona farm hauler RP Hay Hauling (September 10), Texas construction hauler Jett Transport & Materials and courier company Mill Creek Logistics-Illinois (both September 14), Illinois long-haul carrier Globemaster and Florida-based Amazon delivery contractor CLJ Transporting (both September 15), and Texas carrier Xoco Transport (September 16). Xoco runs more than 40 tractors with about 65 drivers, and Globemaster operates 51 trucks. Globemaster reported about $1.1 million in assets against $3.26 million in liabilities, while Pacer Transport listed less than $50,000 in assets against liabilities of between $1 million and $10 million.

Most of the smaller operators, with fleets of one to six trucks, went straight to Chapter 7, which normally means liquidation. That group includes carriers in California, Texas and Illinois. Midwest Expedited, the most recent filer, describes itself as a 95-truck interstate carrier founded in 2014. Its liabilities were later estimated at $2.3 million, and it reported only $817,000 in revenue so far in 2026, compared with $4.8 million for all of 2025.

Court papers do not point to a single cause, and most of the companies did not blame fuel directly in their filings. Several show debts that far exceed assets and financial trouble that predates the latest price spike. Marcus Overcast, owner of Truckload LLC, told FOX Business that diesel and insurance both contributed to his filing, with insurance the heavier burden. Industry analysts describe diesel as the final blow for carriers already weakened by years of poor freight economics.

Diesel is the cost that changed fastest. The national average stood near $3.46 per gallon in mid-January, according to weekly data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Prices began climbing in late February, when the war between the United States, Israel and Iran broke out and commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz nearly stopped. After easing in May and June, diesel surged again over the summer. The AAA national average broke its previous all-time record on September 4, passed $6 for the first time on September 11 and peaked at $6.53 on September 22. In California, the average climbed above $8 per gallon.

Two wars are behind the squeeze. The conflict with Iran has cut diesel exports from the Gulf to roughly a quarter of pre-war levels, according to the International Energy Agency. At the same time, Ukraine has carried out more than 70 drone strikes on Russian refineries since January. Russia, long the second-largest diesel exporter after the United States, banned diesel exports in early July and has extended the ban through October 31. Foreign buyers have turned to US refiners, and American diesel exports hit a record high in August, which has pulled domestic prices up with the global market.

Trucking feels this faster than almost any other sector. Fuel is one of the largest operating costs for a carrier, and profit margins are thin, often between 1% and 5%. At $6.50 per gallon and about seven miles per gallon, the fuel bill for a single coast-to-coast haul reaches roughly $3,000, according to Harvard Business School professor Willy Shih. Filling the two 100-gallon tanks of a typical long-haul truck now costs more than $1,300.

The contrast with airlines shows why small carriers are so exposed. Many airlines protect themselves through fuel hedging, which means signing financial contracts that fix the price of part of their future fuel months or even years in advance. Airlines worldwide had hedged about one-third of their expected 2026 fuel use, according to the International Air Transport Association, and some European carriers went much further before the war began. British low-cost airline easyJet, for example, had locked in 84% of its fuel for the first half of 2026 and 62% for the second half at pre-war prices. As long as those contracts run, a hedged airline pays the old price on that share of its fuel, so part of the increase has not yet reached ticket prices. The protection fades as the contracts expire. Airlines with little or no hedging, a group that includes most US carriers, feel the increase much sooner.

Most trucking companies have no comparable cushion. Large fleets and big shippers usually have fuel surcharge clauses, hedges or the balance sheet to wait out a spike. Small carriers and owner-operators often have none of these, and small businesses account for more than 90% of US trucking companies, according to the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association. Fuel surcharges, where they exist, are usually tied to the weekly EIA average and reset once a week, while pump prices have been moving daily. Shippers often pay invoices 30 to 45 days later, so the carrier finances the gap. Carriers that work the spot market load by load typically receive no surcharge at all.

The pressure is already visible in freight markets. The Logistics Managers' Index for September showed transportation prices at 92.7, close to an all-time high, while transportation capacity fell to 34.4, a steep contraction. Freight data provider DAT reported that in the week of September 13 to 19, higher diesel accounted for more than the entire increase in spot rates for dry van and flatbed freight. Carriers collected more per mile but kept less of it. FreightWaves has also counted close to 2,000 layoffs across delivery firms, manufacturers and packaging companies in recent weeks.

Analysts expect the cost to reach consumers. The Food Industry Association estimates that a diesel spike takes 30 to 45 days to show up on grocery shelves. The timing is also difficult for agriculture, because harvest machinery runs on diesel. When small carriers disappear, capacity tightens first on rural and regional routes, perishable goods and deliveries to small retailers.

Governments have responded with a series of emergency measures. On September 28, Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared a statewide disaster that allows dyed off-road diesel on public roads and raises weight limits to 95,000 pounds for fuel, farm and timber loads. On October 2, the G7 countries agreed to release 100 million barrels of crude oil and diesel from emergency reserves over four months, with a substantial diesel release scheduled for the first 20 days. On October 5, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that permits highway use of dyed diesel and defers the federal excise tax of 24.4 cents per gallon through December 31, 2026. The White House says truckers could save more than $100 per fill-up. Fuel retailers and independent trucker groups have questioned how much relief the order will deliver, since state and environmental rules on dyed diesel remain in place.

On October 9, Trump announced an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin under which Russia would supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel immediately, 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons after that, with a further 3 million tons depending on the condition of Russian refineries. Energy analysts doubt the deal will move prices much, because diesel redirected from Russia's existing customers adds little new supply. Ukraine condemned the arrangement, and several Republican lawmakers have criticized it.

Prices have eased slightly from the peak but remain far above normal. The EIA weekly average fell to $6.20 per gallon on October 5, and AAA put the national average at $6.30 on October 7, compared with $3.68 a year earlier. Crude oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have recovered in recent weeks under US military protection, but refined fuel flows remain limited. The EIA expects US distillate inventories to stay below their five-year low through most of 2027, and winter heating demand is about to add pressure.