221 US trucking firms file for bankruptcy in 2026, worst pace in 23 years

The bankruptcy tally for US trucking companies has already hit 221 this year, according to The Kobeissi Letter, a pace that would deliver the highest annual total in 23 years. It's also the third consecutive year with at least 220 carriers going under.

The jump is steep. Annual trucking bankruptcies stayed below 100 in both 2021 and 2022, meaning the current run is more than double that earlier baseline.

Small operators are feeling it hardest. Roughly 66% of small US trucking firms — typically running 20 trucks or fewer — reported flat or declining revenue year over year, per a Truckstop and Bloomberg survey of hundreds of carriers. About 40% of those surveyed said they expect to leave the industry or aren't sure about their future over the next six months.

Three cost pressures are doing the squeezing: surging diesel prices, rising insurance premiums and higher interest rates. Together they're tightening the screws on the smaller fleets that make up the bulk of the industry's bankruptcies.