Bankruptcies in trucking are accelerating as tariffs, heavy debt, and post-pandemic overinvestment plague the industry. Some are warning recovery may be delayed until mid-2026.

The pandemic-era freight boom drew thousands of new entrants to the market, many of whom invested heavily in trucks and drivers based on unsustainably high spot rates. As freight demand cooled, those investments became a liability.

2025 was definitively worse than 2024. While 2024 showed some signs of market stabilization and even increased new freight carrier registrations, 2025 saw an acceleration of bankruptcies, record-breaking carrier exits, continued cost inflation, and persistent unprofitability. The hope that emerged in early 2024 was dashed in 2025 by factors including tariffs, tightened credit standards, and new regulatory burdens like stricter English proficiency requirements for drivers.

For industrial property, such as the IOS subcategory, the decline in demand for space from the trucking industry has led to a great change in the market. A few years ago available land was nearly impossible to find and now there are plenty of options to choose from in the Los Angeles area Metro. Land lease rates and sale prices have dipped considerably.