When a shipping company goes out of business, it generally has a liquidation period in which it delivers the remaining loads in its possession. Not doing so leaves thousands of people in limbo, as they don’t know if their orders will ever arrive.
The problem can be even worse when the items being delivered have an expiration date or could become less valuable, or even useless, if they remain in place.
In some cases, items in transit become even more of a hassle, as customers have paid for delivery, but whoever ends up owning the assets of the bankrupt shipping company has no obligation to make the delivery.
A similar problem arose when furniture company Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams went bankrupt in 2023. Customers had paid it for delivery, but that payment had not been sent to its shipping partners.
In the end, the bankruptcy court allowed Ryder Last Mile and other trucking companies to charge customers again if they wanted their products.
In the case of Montgomery Transport, which filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection on October 9 and immediately closed, the fate of its warehouse and in-transit deliveries remains in limbo.
Montgomery Transport LLC, a flatbed trucking company based in Birmingham, Alabama, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and immediately ceased operations. That leaves about 1,000 employees out of work and the fate of everything the company sent is uncertain.
The company described its business on its website.
“Montgomery Transport is a leading flatbed carrier in the country specializing in the safe transportation of oversized cargo. Our company is built on understanding the unique needs of our customers and our drivers. That means state-of-the-art safety technology, well-maintained equipment, high quality standards and strong relationships,” the company shared.
He then follows with a statement that now rings hollow, given his filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and abandoning his remaining burdens:
We treat each journey as if it were the most important on the road, because for us it is.
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Montgomery Transport LLC (based in Birmingham, AL) requested Chapter 7 bankruptcy and ceased operations immediately.
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The presentation followed a failed sale to Transport P&S.
Fountain:LinkedIn -
Approximately 1,000 employees They are now out of work due to the lockdown.
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“This is the biggest truck bankruptcy of the year,” according to Craig Fuller, a transportation industry expert, in a post on X, the old Twitter.
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The abrupt closure does not suggest that there is no “winding down period.” Operations ceased following bankruptcy.
