The Collapsed Logistics Giant Was Snapped Up And Cannibalized By Several Freight Forwarders!

In August this year, US transportation giant Yellow announced it was ceasing operations, which will result in some 30,000 employees losing their jobs. The company has been providing logistics solutions since 1929, and the move marks the closure of the nearly century-old logistics giant! The freight market is in serious decline! Take a look at the logistics companies that have gone out of business and laid off employees in the last two years.

The buyout market is interested in now-defunct U.S. logistics and transportation giant Yellow Freight, which has been acquired for a total of about $1.9 billion since August, according to TI Insights.

One of the biggest buyers was XPO, one of the largest over-the-road freight providers in the U.S. The freight forwarder purchased 28 different properties, primarily transfer stations, for a total value of $870 million.

But other freight forwarders also saw several key benefits from the Yellow Freight acquisition. Eastern Express Lines paid $249 million for 24 different transfer stations; Knight-Swift Transportation purchased 13 terminal transfer stations for $51 million; Saia purchased 17 transfer stations for $236 million; and smaller company TForce acquired two transfer stations for $15.9 million.

Yellow Freight's swansong dates back to the time of the epidemic, when the U.S. government granted the logistics giant a large emergency loan. However, Yellow Freight did not escape bankruptcy and closure in the summer of 2023, when its management had to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

On Wednesday, management rejected an offer to buy and reorganize its business, according to The New York Times. In a letter to potential buyers, Yellow Freight's lawyers claimed that the offer was "unworkable" and that they had not received any indication as to whether or not the offer was supported by the company's creditors, including the Treasury Department. There was no indication.

According to a report from The New York Times, the end of Yellow Freight's acquisition and reorganization could come as early as next week.

According to the newspaper, Yellow Freight's management plans to complete its own bankruptcy plan, and on December 12, the company plans to file for approval of the $1.9 billion sale of said assets with a federal bankruptcy judge in Delaware.

However, according to Reuters, the company came close to being fully acquired by U.S. transportation company Jack Cooper Transport in October of this year, which would have saved some 30,000 jobs. But ultimately, the deal failed to materialize.