Central Freight Lines to shut down after 96 years

[Mike]

2,100 employees will be laid off right before Christmas. Central Freight Lines is the largest trucking company to close since Celadon ceased operations in 2019.​

Waco, Texas-based Central Freight Lines has notified drivers, employees and customers that the less-than-truckload carrier plans to wind down operations on Monday after 96 years, the company’s president told FreightWaves on Saturday.

A source close to CFL told FreightWaves that CFL had “too much debt and too many unpaid bills” to continue operating, despite exploring all available options to keep its doors open.

Exclusive: Central Freight Lines to shut down after 96 years

A source familiar with the 96-year-old company said he is unsure whether CFL will file Chapter 7 or “liquidate outside of bankruptcy,” but that the LTL carrier has no plans to reorganize.

www.freightwaves.com

 

[389 Hood]

WOW! I talk to a CFL driver just about every night. Like me, he runs the same route 5 nights a week with a pair of pups. He never said a thing about it.

I'm off for the next week, so I may not see him again.