Reports: 51-year-old Michigan trucking company halts operations

Equity Transportation Co. Inc., a Walker, Michigan-based trucking company, has ceased operations, marking another casualty of the freight market. Multiple sources close to the company confirmed with FreightWaves that the company has shut down, letting go of all of its drivers and halting operations of its vehicles. 

According to reports on Facebook, drivers are still waiting to hear about their final wages, while some have dealt with recent bounced checks.

Equity Transportation has yet to make a statement regarding its closure. FreightWaves could not confirm issues with wages with drivers directly. FreightWaves attempted to reach the company directly through various channels, but much of its phone directory has been deactivated, including dispatching and the accounting and safety departments. 

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Equity Transportation has been registered with the Department of Transportation since 1974. The FMCSA’s Safer website reports 100 drivers and 109 power units at the company.

Equity Transportation’s financial standing prior to closure also raised red flags. According to RigDig data, the company had been flagged with a high-risk credit warning by Dun & Bradstreet, signaling potential financial distress. Operational challenges, including hours-of-service violations and multiple accidents over the past two years, may have compounded the company’s difficulties.

Equity Transportation’s struggles reflect broader challenges facing the freight industry. Over the past two years, market conditions have been increasingly difficult, with factors such as overcapacity, declining spot market rates and economic pressures creating a perfect storm for carriers to navigate. Many trucking companies ramped up their fleets during the freight boom, only to find themselves dealing with excess capacity as demand softened. 

Additionally, low tender rejection rates indicate that carriers are accepting nearly all available loads, often at reduced rates, simply to stay afloat. This lack of pricing power has eroded profitability, particularly for smaller and midsize carriers that lack the financial resilience of larger competitors. External economic pressures, including trade tensions, inflation and global conflicts, have only exacerbated the situation. With uncertainty surrounding tariffs and international trade policies, freight volumes have fluctuated unpredictably, making it even harder for struggling carriers to maintain stable revenue.

The trucking industry has seen a wave of bankruptcies in recent months. Rising operational costs, shrinking margins and fewer freight opportunities have made survival increasingly difficult. 

Equity Transportation’s closure underscores the harsh reality of today’s freight market that even long-established carriers are not immune to the economic downturn. 

This is a developing story.

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