Standard Forwarding Freight suspends operations: What it means for automotive
Less-than-truckload carrier (LTL) Standard Forwarding Freight has suspended operations and reduced its workforce after almost a decade of business.
Standard Forwarding Freight announced that the decision was made following a strategic review of the business, calling it a “difficult but necessary” move. In a statement released at the end of December, the company added: “The decision was made after careful consideration of the company’s current circumstances and the need to conduct an orderly evaluation of the business. During the period, Standard Forwarding Freight will undertake an operational assessment to determine appropriate next steps.”
The carrier operated as a regional trucking firm with 14 terminals and cross-docking services across Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The carrier, which had 230 drivers and 302 trucks, moved automotive parts such as metal sheets, coils and rolls, according to the US Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Safety and Fitness Electronic Records (SAFER).
The firm was acquired from DHL by car haulier Jack Cooper’s private holding company Sakaem Holdings at the start of 2025, a month before Jack Cooper ceased operations in February. Sarah Amico, previously CEO of Jack Cooper after taking over the role from her father Michael Riggs, is also CEO of Sakaem Holdings, with Riggs remaining as a board member of the private holding company. Sakaem Holdings has an estimated revenue of less than $5m.
In an email to Standard Forwarding Freight’s local unions, John Murphy, National Freight Director, Teamsters said the news was “completely unexpected, as Standard Forwarding had never previously communicated with [the] union any challenges or difficulties or attempted to work to avoid this outcome”.
He added: “The Freight Division has requested immediate bargaining with Standard Forwarding to obtain additional information and secure whatever benefits possible during this difficult time. In addition, we are exploring all legal options, including possible litigation, to enforce any federal, state and local protections available to our members.”
The impact of Standard Forwarding Freight's closure on automotive logistics
The closure reflects broader struggles in the LTL freight industry and vehicle logistics in general, with smaller carriers facing intense competition amid slowing demand. With a high degree of industry fragmentation, there is a strong downward pressure on prices, meaning margins are squeezed and cashflow is tight. In 2024, Automotive Logistics revealed that the leading ten FVL firms in North America only accounted for 32.5% of the overall market.
Having such limited cash flow means a lack of flexibility and financial resiliency to face disruptions, and also means it is cost prohibitive to make investments in fleets. To combat this, some of the larger firms have been making acquisitions in an aim to boost scale and competitiveness, such as DSV’s acquisition of DB Schenker.
But in some cases, such as Jack Cooper’s, financial pressures hit before acquisitions can be completed.
Jack Cooper wound down operations in February last year, following a breakdown in its contracts with GM and Ford. The hauler had been renegotiating contracts with the OEMs, two of its biggest contracts, before unilaterally stopping services. The firm had been looking to acquire LTL provider Yellow, which filed for bankruptcy in August 2023, but dropped its bid eight months after the filing in April 2023 after an alleged lack of engagement from Yellow.
Financial pressures had hit Jack Cooper previously, in 2019, when it reorganised its business under Chapter 11 proceedings following an underfunded Teamster pension that was leading to almost-certain insolvency. The company exited bankruptcy proceedings in the same year, extinguishing around $250m of debt and permanently removing $2 billion of underfunded pension liability.
If other LTL firms face the same outcome, there could be reduced LTL capacity, more noticeable in regional lanes, with less trucks, terminals and drivers circulating in the market, meaning fewer options for shipments and service disruptions and delays. Rates will be likely to rise, with spot rates the first to jump, followed by contract rates.
In response, OEMs may hedge against this with higher safety stock holdings and increased use of expedited freight, increasing costs and complexity. Carmakers that want to avoid the risk of relying too heavily on a small set of carriers could expand relationships across multiple LTL carriers and engage logistics service providers with broader networks to help cushion the impact of any further carrier disruption. Modal shifts to full truckload (FTL) and intermodal transport could become more popular.
