Trucking 'bloodbath': Celadon bankruptcy may leave truckers stranded - Business Insider

The trucking giant Celadon declared bankruptcy on Monday, according to federal filings. It's poised to be the largest truckload bankruptcy in history, according to FreightWaves, which broke the story on Friday from internal sources.The bankruptcy has the potential to leave more than 2,500 truck drivers stranded away from home.Sign up for Business Insider's transportation newsletter, Shifting Gears, to get more stories like this in your inbox.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.The trucking bloodbath of 2019 is ending on a remarkably sour note.Indianapolis-based Celadon, a truckload carrier that grossed $1 billion as recently as 2015, filed for bankruptcy on Dec. 9. It's poised to be the largest truckload bankruptcy in history, leading industry publication FreightWaves reported on Friday.And the company's drivers are already getting slammed.The bankruptcy has the potential to leave nearly 3,000 truck drivers stranded away from home. Celadon employs 2,500 truck drivers, and works with 380 owner-operators. It also leaves some 1,300 administrative employees, most of whom work in Celadon's Indianapolis headquarter, jobless right before the holidays.According to a federal filing, Celadon owes its total 3,800 employees more than $3.9 million in unpaid wages, along with $1.1 million in termination bonuses. The termination bonus works out to about $267 per worker.

Here's what Celadon owes its employees.

US Bankruptcy filing

Sources told Business Insider that Celadon truck drivers' fuel cards were already being turned off, leaving them unable to get home without spending serious cash on gas or arranging their own transport by car, plane, or bus.An internal source confirmed to FreightWaves that the company might not be able to get drivers home on time and encouraged them to fill their tanks as soon as possible.Read more: Truckers can't pay off their fuel cards — and it's a 'sure sign' more trucking bankruptcies are comingNumerous Facebook groups, including Celadon Closure Assistance and Jobs, have been set up to help stranded Celadon truck drivers connect. Celadon did not immediately respond to a Business Insider request for comment.2019 has been a challenging year for truck drivers and their employers. About 640 trucking companies went bankrupt in the first half of the year, according to industry data from Broughton Capital LLC. That's more than triple the roughly 175 bankruptcies from the same period last year.Read more: Another 1,000 truck drivers lost their jobs in November, and it's a chilling sign for the economyACT Research has said America's $800 billion trucking market entered a recession early this year. Freight volumes have declined for 11 straight months. Manufacturing, which tracks the trucking industry, has contracted for four straight months.The source of Celadon's troubles dates back further, however. On Thursday, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged two former Celadon executives following a multiyear accounting scandal.The news plunged Celadon's stock to $0.41 a share on Friday — a considerable tumble from the more than $20 a share that the stock was worth in 2015 before the accounting scandal became public knowledge.Are you a Celadon truck driver who is at risk for being stranded？ Email rpremack@businessinsider.com.Read more about the trucking recession of 2019:America's largest truck-engine manufacturer just announced 2,000 layoffs — and it's another sign of the trucking 'bloodbath' that's slamming the $800 billion industryTruckers are becoming more and more pessimistic about the US economyTruckers can't pay off their fuel cards — and it's a 'sure sign' that more trucking bankruptcies are coming'I don't know how long I can stay in business': Truckers' fears have soared to recession-level highsTruckers say Amazon's new logistics empire is being underpinned by low, 'ridiculous' rates — and some are refusing to work with themThe leading industry group for truck drivers has declared we're hurtling toward a trucking 'bloodbath'And read the initial bankruptcy filling here

Petition to File Bankruptcy Celadon (PDF)

Petition to File Bankruptcy Celadon (Text)