Maine - Carlen Transport Shuts Down

[Mike]

Maine-based flatbed operator is second trucking company to close in a week

Carlen Transport, the largest flatbed truck operator in Maine, ceased operations this week, saying high costs and weak demand from the housing and construction made it impossible to keep the company running.

The shutdown, which will cost some 100 workers their jobs, is the second failure of a multi-state trucking company over the holidays. Flatbed operator Arrow Trucking abruptly ceased operations Christmas week.

With 105 tractors and 112 trailers, Carlen was about a tenth the size of Arrow, but the 23-year-old company was the largest of its kind in Maine, had a separate office in Keasby, N.J., and provided service across most of the country.

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[patriciajnsn]

Another one?????? Gees is flatbed really that slow?I just hope one day I don't get the call that this company is closing.I got the call with the last company.

 

[Chae Transport]

Whats is worse I always figured CRST Malone would be the first flatbedders to go belly up

 

[tomboy]

Carlen

I met a driver for Carlen at Bouldercrest Pilot. He was a Vietnam vet. Nice guy said he spent couple months at a time in the truck. Said his girlfriend was from Wash DC area. Can't remember his name now. Might be in my notes... Hope he gets another gig.

 

[Racer X 69]

I am driving for a flatbed company out of the Seattle area. We have plenty of work, the yard has a lot of trailers loaded and ready to go, and we have several contracts with dedicated runs keeping the more senior drivers moving. I asked the general manager last Thursday about how the Arrow collapse might affect us and he smiled, shook my hand and said he hoped I would like to keep busy, that we were already picking up loads that they were not going to be carrying.

The way I see it is that with the unfortunate demise of a larger carrier (Arrow) and this smaller one only mean that we will have more freight to carry.

 

[Sinister]

Nature (and business) abhors a vacuum.

 

[underpaid]

Whats is worse I always figured CRST Malone would be the first flatbedders to go belly up

They have a contract hauling Home depot DC stuff. The seem to have some good sized, consistant loads.

 

[underpaid]

I run curtian side construction material (covered flatbed) We always get slow this time of year. But I am also dedicated. I might not work 5 days a week, but usually 4 days. But I work part time for another company when I can to even up the paychecks!!

 

[Sinister]

They have a contract hauling Home depot DC stuff. The seem to have some good sized, consistant loads.

They (CRST) also use lots of Owner operators, and have a bullshit lease program which keeps company costs down by shifting operating costs from company to contract driver. They also have a brokerage division, so the company is diversified. Carlen was not, and I think that's a large part of the failure.

 

[patriciajnsn]

I am driving for a flatbed company out of the Seattle area. We have plenty of work, the yard has a lot of trailers loaded and ready to go, and we have several contracts with dedicated runs keeping the more senior drivers moving. I asked the general manager last Thursday about how the Arrow collapse might affect us and he smiled, shook my hand and said he hoped I would like to keep busy, that we were already picking up loads that they were not going to be carrying.

The way I see it is that with the unfortunate demise of a larger carrier (Arrow) and this smaller one only mean that we will have more freight to carry.

Well then what seems to be the problems with arrow and this one I wonder.Maybe its because the load planners arent guick at the draw to see on line whats for loads.My company always has lds and always before i delivered the previous ld.Like this ld is due in wisconsin mon and i bet they already have another load waiting for me.

 

[freedhardwoods]

The flatbedders I have talked to all say things are slow now. Thankfully I work for a private carrier that only hauls their own material. We were busy right up until Christmas. We will probably be a little slow for a month or two. The last couple of weeks while many customers were closed for the holidays, they let us go out empty to pickup what would normally be our return loads when we are busy just to help keep up the drivers paychecks. They pay for all odometer miles, no matter what route we take (our choice).

 

[Sinister]

Building materials is alos sort of the lower end of the payscale on flatbed freight, and this company seems like they had all their eggs in one basket. Sheetrock, brick, shingles...blaa...unless you're freedhardwoods and hauling your own product, doing it for other people...yuck...

 

[Chae Transport]

They (CRST) also use lots of Owner operators, and have a bullshit lease program which keeps company costs down by shifting operating costs from company to contract driver. They also have a brokerage division, so the company is diversified. Carlen was not, and I think that's a large part of the failure.

Sinister is totally correct, CRST Malones Fleet is solely owner/operators. Their biggest account right now is Alcoa for purposes of the auto industry. If Alcoa goes some where else there will be a lot of owner/operators with CRST sitting still