Trucking and logistics companies have endured the consequences of the Great Freight Recession since mid-2022.
The industry had a surge in trucking authorities and companies beginning in June 2020, as the Covid pandemic subsided and trucking demand surged.
The industry had about 255,000 authorities in January 2020, or government-issued permits allowing companies to operate, FreightWaves reported. By June 2022, the trucking industry was saturated with carriers, and the Great Freight Recession had begun, as companies began shutting down.
Federal data show about 35,000 trucking companies shut down in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2023, according to FreightWaves. The industry had about 353,000 authorities by November 2023.
The Great Freight Recession has continued into 2025, despite some reports in 2024 that the recession was over.
Dozens of trucking companies file for 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.
Related: 34-year-old casual dining chain files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Long-haul truckload demand reportedly plummeted by 25% in the first half of 2025, with trucking becoming more of a short-haul delivery method for the final leg of freight movement.
Key Great Freight Recession numbers:
- 16 bankruptcy filings in third quarter 2025 by Sept. 17.
- 20 bankuptcy filings in second quarter 2025.
- Long-haul truckload demand reportedly plummeted by 25% in the first half of 2025.
Overall freight demand faced an unseasonal decline in April 2025, “likely presaging further deterioration in the coming months,” according to Ryder and FreightWaves’ State of the Industry Report released on April 23.
The decline is unseasonal, according to the State of the Industry Report, since demand slowly ramps up at the beginning of the second quarter in anticipation of summer inventories and produce deliveries.
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J.B. Hunt closes Home Depot Distribution Center
And now one of the nation’s leading trucking companies, J.B. Hunt Transport Inc., has 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.
“Changing business conditions require us to close this facility permanently and therefore, we are providing you with this notice in accordance with the requirements of the Federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act about the closing of the facility,” Mark Jostad, senior director of human resources compliance at J.B. Hunt, said in the WARN letter.
How many employees are affected by the J.B. Hunt facility closure?
- 74 employees will lose their jobs at the Lithonia, Ga., distribution facility.
The letter listed several employee titles that will be impacted, including DCS Dedicated Class A Driver Local, Transportation Manager II; Manager II, Operations; Manager I, Operations; Sr. Manager, Operations; and Dispatcher.
Employees do not have the right to displace other employees, so-called “bumping rights,” but transfer rights to other facilities might be available to certain employees, the letter said.
J.B. Hunt reduced its workforce by 1,000 employees
J.B, Hunt has been reducing costs and expenses since the Great Freight Recession began three years ago, as it has cut its workforce by about 1,000 employees from 2023 to 2024, Trucking Dive reported.
More Bankruptcy:
- Beer brand and brewery files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
- Italian chain closed most restaurants in Chapter 11 bankruptcy
- Popular healthcare retail chain files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Some trucking analysts have stated that the Great Freight Recession is continuing.
“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.
Related: Major seafood company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
