00:00America's trucking recession claims another victim.
00:03$1.2 billion debt buries Ohio trucking giant and 2,150 jobs.
00:10The freight recession that began in 2022 has now claimed one of America's oldest logistics giants.
00:16STG Logistics, a 41-year-old Dublin, Ohio, company operating 15,000 intermodal containers
00:22and employing over 2,150 drivers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on January 12, 2026,
00:31carrying $1.2 billion in debt.
00:34The collapse shows how tariffs, weak freight, and rising costs are squeezing even established carriers,
00:39and the paperwork reveals why.
00:42Operating 15,000 intermodal containers, 3,300 chassis, and 4.5 million square feet of warehouse space nationwide,
00:51the company employed over 2,150 drivers and thousands more across affiliates.
00:58The freight recession, beginning in March 2022, persisted through 2025.
01:04Long-haul truckload demand fell 25% in early 2025, while freight rates dropped 30% below prior peaks.
01:11Rising labor, insurance, and operating costs squeezed margins, forcing fleet reductions and operational strain.
01:17Private fleets now handle 70.4% of U.S. outbound shipments, reducing opportunities for four-hire carriers like STG.
01:26Shippers increasingly moved freight in-house to cut costs, eroding volume and pricing power,
01:31which contributed directly to STG's revenue decline of $227 million across 2023 to 2025.
01:38New tariffs, in early 2025, further disrupted import volumes, with rates between 10% to 145% and unpredictable changes.
01:50STG's volume fell 7% in 2025 versus 2024, compounding financial stress during a period of already thin cash reserves.
01:58STG entered bankruptcy with just $34 million in unrestricted cash, requesting $294 million in debtor-in-possession financing to maintain operations.
02:10Creditors, including Union Pacific, CSX, and Kansas City, southern DeMexico faced exposure,
02:16while thousands of employees confronted potential job losses.
02:20Freight company bankruptcies rose 35% year-over-year in 2025.
02:24The collapse followed Yellow Corporation's 2023 failure, signaling that the Great Freight Recession continued to purge undercapitalized carriers while oversupply persisted.
02:36Weak consumer spending, slower GDP growth, and a 4-to-1 oversupply-to-demand gap in industrial real estate, stressed warehousing, and intermodal operations.
02:47U.S. rail intermodal volumes fell late in 2025, reflecting structural challenges beyond seasonal fluctuations.
02:54With shippers favoring private fleets, for higher carriers face long-term disadvantages.
03:00Analysts project that bankruptcies like STG's may accelerate consolidation, potentially raising rates if exits continue and demand stabilizes.
03:09Under Chapter 11, STG seeks to reduce debt, streamline assets, and possibly merge or sell divisions.
03:16Success depends on stabilizing demand, easing tariffs, and continued capacity exits over the next 12 to 18 months.
