Trucking News: Ohio-based GDS Express abruptly ceases operations

[Mike]

GDA Express has shut down. Not a huge company, but not a small fleet either. 75 company trucks and drivers plus office staff. I believe they had some owner operators leased on as well, but not positive on that.

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Former employees of GDS Express of Akron, Ohio, were still on the job early Dec. 20 working on getting approximately four drivers home after news broke that the carrier was shuttering operations just days before Christmas.

A driver, who didn’t want to be named, told FreightWaves on Dec. 20 that of the four drivers still out on the road, two will make it home today and the other two drivers currently have enough fuel and money to make it home in the next day or two.

“Office and driver pay hit the banks today [Dec. 20],” the GDS driver told FreightWaves.

Ohio-based GDS Express abruptly ceases operations

Ohio-based GDS Express abruptly ceases operations

www.freightwaves.com

 

[Rigjockey]

Holy Guacamole!
Sure it is a small company but I have read of a lot of companies shutting down, big and small. All them jobs add up.
Anyone think a recession is near?

 

[Mike]

Anyone think a recession is near?

Nope. All indications from what I have seen lead to bad management each and every time.

Freight movement is high, rates are rebounding and better than any year other than 2018.

In other words, the freight is there, and there is plenty money to be made with it.

 

[Rigjockey]

Nope. All indications from what I have seen lead to bad management each and every time.

Freight movement is high, rates are rebounding and better than any year other than 2018.

In other words, the freight is there, and there is plenty money to be made with it.

You know the freight volumes and rate better than I do.
You are right, bad management seems to be a common denominator in most of these shut downs.

 

[Mike]

You know the freight volumes and rate better than I do.
You are right, bad management seems to be a common denominator in most of these shut downs.

I would have to dig into what these companies have done, but I think one big strain has been the pressure to improve pay and benefits.

Trucking is a low profit margin business, and I feel that many bumped up pay and benefits based on one fluke year (2018), and it has hurt them since.

I also feel like the push to drive rates back down in 2019 was stalled due to these companies finally fighting back ( a little too late for some of them).

I have mentioned this in the past, but as the minimum wage gets pushed up, the trucking industry is going to be forced to respond. It's already hard to get any sort of driver, much less quality driver, to stay out here. When those $9/hr jobs become $15+, it will only get harder.

Rates are going to be forced higher by this in order for trucking companies to survive. Anybody in my position can only smile thinking about it.