Trucking News · Nationwide · October 29, 2026

Small-Fleet Truckers Squeezed: 221 Trucking Companies Have Filed for Bankruptcy So Far in 2026

By Big Rig Daily Staff · Updated Oct 29, 2026, 8:13 a.m. PT

Some 221 trucking companies have filed for bankruptcy so far this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, extending a three-year spike at sustained levels not seen in decades, Transport Topics reported on Oct. 28. Small carriers, the report says, are feeling the pinch from high diesel prices, rising insurance bills and heavy debts.

What the survey found

Around two-thirds of small U.S. carriers, which typically operate 20 or fewer tractors and often just one, report that revenue is flat or down compared with a year ago. That comes from a survey of hundreds of such companies conducted over the past two months by freight-management firm Truckstop and Bloomberg Intelligence. Almost 40% of those operators said that in six months they expect to be out of trucking or are not sure where they will be.

One Michigan carrier's story

Justin Stoneman has worked in trucking for 27 years in central Michigan, hauling grain and fertilizer around the Midwest with about a dozen tractor-trailers. At their best, his trucks brought in more than $3 million a year. His company, Stoneman Trucking, filed for bankruptcy protection in May, and he is now shifting to chapter 7 to close the business.

He said an insurance company quoted him $155,000 to cover two trucks and three trailers after one of his drivers had an accident. He also took out two merchant cash advances totaling around $125,000 in 2023, when cash was low, and says he now wishes he had used a normal line of credit.

Why small fleets are more exposed

Chip Lane, managing partner at the Lane Law Firm in Texas, said his firm has seen a "massive uptick" in trucking companies exploring restructuring, sometimes as many as three or four in one week. Many small operators start as truckers for larger companies, then go out on their own, but often lack the cash to buy a truck outright and rely heavily on credit. That leaves them more exposed to rising costs, such as record diesel prices, even when freight is still coming in.

"It's much easier for the large J.B. Hunt to absorb higher fuel prices than it is for the $2.5 million dollar mom-and-pop trucking company that has five trucks doing local deliveries," said Christopher Ward, a bankruptcy partner at Lowenstein Sandler. Companies with no equipment debt and qualified safety records, usually larger ones, are doing well, said Aaron Graft, CEO of Triumph Financial. "It's a feast or famine," he said.

Lane described a "triple whammy" for small carriers that survived the freight downturn: higher fuel prices, rising interest rates and burdensome credit arrangements. He said some owners take variable-rate loans or short-term, high-interest loans, and rely on merchant cash advances and factoring, which add costs later.

Fraud and insurance

Jennifer Lockett, operations manager at the factoring company altLINE, said the freight downturn sped up identity theft in trucking. Fraudsters take a trucker's identification number, which is valuable because it shows a long, clean history, and use it to intercept loads. Freight fraud costs the industry an estimated $18 million a day, according to Highway's Freight Fraud Index. Lockett also said insurance can rise when carriers are defrauded or get a single speeding ticket.

Kevin McAllister opened a three-truck business in 2021 and closed it in 2024 after seeing rates fall. "It was almost like treading water," he said.

Quick facts

• Trucking bankruptcies so far in 2026: 221, per Bloomberg data.
• Small carriers with flat or falling revenue: about two-thirds, per a Truckstop and Bloomberg Intelligence survey.
• Operators unsure or expecting to leave within six months: almost 40%.
• Estimated cost of freight fraud: $18 million a day, per Highway's Freight Fraud Index.

Big Rig Daily has also covered trucking company bankruptcies in September and October and how much more diesel costs a truck each day. To check your own margins, try the owner-operator profit calculator.

A question for readers

If you run a small fleet or a single truck, which cost has hit you hardest this year: fuel, insurance or loan payments?

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