A Texas-based trucking company ended 2019 by closing its doors for good, pointing to insurance costs as a reason for the closure.
Diboll, Texas-based Fleetwood Transportation Services, Inc. shut down for good at 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 2019, according to local news outlet the Lufkin Daily News.
According to the FMCSA’s SAFER website, the company employs around 240 truck drivers. Fleetwood Transportation Services also contracted with more than a dozen owner-operators.
In a December 17 letter to owner-operators explaining the reason for the shut down, company leaders said that insurance costs were a factor in their decision:
“We would have liked to have given you and your employees more notice however it has not been until recently that Fleetwood Transportation Services has been able to renew its insurance. At that time, the premiums for insurance became unaffordable and the decision was made in the last week to cease operations as of December 31, 2019.”
The company also asked drivers to complete the haul of any dispatched loads and promised to pay them for their services.
Fleetwood Transportation Services has been in operation since 1956 and specialized in flatbed and oilfield transportation services.
2019 saw hundreds of trucking companies close permanently, including Falcon Transport, LME, NEMF, and Celadon.