Trucking Bankruptcies in 2024 & 2025 (YTD)

The U.S. trucking industry has endured a surge of bankruptcies and business closures through 2024 and into 2025. A prolonged freight recession, characterized by "excess capacity" and falling freight rates, forced thousands of carriers to shut down or seek bankruptcy protection.

2024: Massive Carrier Exodus

2024 followed 2023’s bloodbath, with tens of thousands of motor carriers exiting the market. For context:

In 2023, 88,000+ trucking authorities and over 8,000 brokers were revoked.
In just the first half of 2024, there was a net loss of ~10,000 carriers, according to FMCSA data (via TruckInfo).
FreightWaves called it “another brutal year” as thousands of carriers either closed shop or filed Chapter 11.

Even larger, decades-old carriers weren’t immune.

2025 YTD: The Pain Continues

The closure trend hasn’t slowed; in fact, it’s intensified:

As of early 2025, 1,500+ trucking companies are shutting down every week, an 8% increase YoY
In April 2025 alone, 7,474 trucking businesses exited the market, a 26% spike from March.
That’s the highest monthly closure total in over a year.

The collapse is ongoing, and the capacity purge is still in full swing.

What This Means for You 👇

If you're a broker, carrier, or shipper, this data is a signal: