Dive Brief:
- Illinois transportation firm Nortia Logistics — which allegedly defaulted on repaying Union Pacific Railroad for freight services — filed for Ch. 11 bankruptcy on June 9.
- Union Pacific sued Nortia in May and alleged the asset-based business lapsed in repaying a $3.6 million promissory note, representing freight debt from Dec. 6, 2023, through May 6, 2024.
- The Chicagoland business also owes over $1.3 million in lease terminations, among other unsecured claims.
Dive Insight:
Nortia has around $1.4 million in estimated assets and nearly $5.8 million in liabilities, according to the bankruptcy filing.
Assets included forklifts and Volvo trucks, and the company was leasing 26 trucks through Penske Truck Leasing along with warehouse and office space with 36 months remaining.
The firm had 56 power units and 45 drivers as of Feb. 20, according to a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration database.
With the Union Pacific debt, Nortia was on a repayment schedule starting a year ago but missed monthly payments in Q4 2024 totaling over $499,000, Union Pacific’s suit said. The trucking firm still owed a remaining balance of $3.2 million, the railroad said in a January letter.
Large carriers and analysts have been noting in recent years how they expect capacity to retreat from the surge of trucking businesses due to pandemic-fueled demand. Recent bankruptcy filings have come from firms such as Balkan Express, AZA Transportation and Angie’s Transportation.
Nortia generated $40 million in revenue in 2023, nearly $29.5 million in 2024, and over $8.3 million from Jan. 1 up until the bankruptcy filing, according to the court document.
