Trucking leaders: Yellow shutdown a significant blow, but industry resilient

The president of the Iowa Motor Truck Association said Tuesday the shutdown of Yellow Corp. is a significant blow not only to the trucking industry, but to the nation’s economy as a whole. “Yellow’s closure is a substantial blow to America’s economy and the company’s 30,000 hardworking employees and their families that are located in all 50 states,” said IMTA president Brenda Neville. “Since its founding nearly a century ago, Yellow has been an integral part of our supply chain. As the nation’s first less-than-truckload carrier, it was also a key part of the trucking industry as well.” Yellow Corp., one of the nation’s largest less-than-truckload (LTL) motor carriers, reportedly told its customers and employees Sunday it was ceasing operations. The company had struggled to remain financially viable in recent months, despite a $700 million loan from the federal government in 2020 and the cancellation of a threatened strike from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union, which represents nearly 22,000 of the company’s 30,000 employees nationwide. Teamsters officials said Monday they were served legal notice that Yellow Corp. was ceasing operations and would soon be filing for bankruptcy, which when filed will be the largest bankruptcy in the trucking industry’s history. “Today’s news is unfortunate but not surprising,” Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said. “Yellow has historically proven that it could not manage itself despite billions of dollars in worker concessions and hundreds of millions in bailout funding from the federal government. The Teamsters will be extending assistance to Yellow workers to find new jobs throughout the freight and other industries, union officials said. Reports didn’t indicate if the shutdown of Yellow Corp. also impacted the company’s 3PL division, which was operated as a separate business unit and had recently been offered for sale by the company. In a nod to Yellow’s 99-year history, Ms. Neville praised Yellow’s workforce for its longtime leadership in the trucking industry. “Yellow employees have always been tremendous advocates for highway safety, always leading by example, so this is a blow to the trucking industry indeed,” she said. “While the trucking industry is stepping up to fill the void that will be left by Yellow, the repercussions will be felt for a very long time by the workers, their customers and the economy overall.” Yellow operated four freight terminals in Iowa, including Cedar Rapids, Mason City, Des Moines and West Des Moines. It’s unclear how many employees the company had in Iowa. While the shutdown of Yellow is unfortunate for the nation’s trucking industry, which has struggled with driver shortages and soaring input costs, it’s not an insurmountable challenge, Ms. Neville said. “There are many challenges facing the trucking industry, but trucking is still going to be the most efficient and effective mode of delivering the products that we all depend on every single day,” she said. “Trucking leaders are always very cognizant of the challenges, which is why they are always going to be very proactive in finding solutions to the many challenges that they encounter daily. That is a very consistent and necessary trait you will find of anyone that owns a trucking company. The driver shortage is certainly a top concern, and every trucking company in this state has good paying jobs available today. They are always on the hunt for good people to get involved in trucking.”