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An Illinois-based trucking and logistics company, which contracted with
the U.S. Postal Service to haul mail and had over 650 employees, including
more than 480 drivers, abruptly ceased operations Thursday, according to sources familiar with the closure.

Former truck drivers for Midwest Transport Inc. (MTI), headquartered in Robinson, Illinois, told FreightWaves that they received telephone calls
from their regional managers late Thursday notifying them the company was winding down operations.

As of publication on Friday, MTI has not issued a formal statement about
what led to the closure. However, FreightWaves confirmed with some former senior managers and truck drivers who worked for the mail contractor that
the company was ending operations. They did not want to be named in the
article for fear of retaliation.

MTI, founded in 1980, operated key terminals in Greenup, Illinois;
Harmony, Pennsylvania; Memphis, Tennessee; and two terminals in Tampa and Jacksonville, Florida, according to its website.

MTI had over 480 drivers and 428 power units, according to the Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s SAFER website.

FMCSA data shows the company’s trucks had been inspected 244 times, and 65
had been placed out of service for a 27% out-of-service rate over the
preceding 24-month period. That is significantly higher than the
industry’s national average of around 22%.

MTI’s drivers had been inspected 564 times, and 16 were placed out of
service over a two-year period, resulting in a nearly 3% out-of-service
rate. That is less than half the industry’s national average of 7%,
according to FMCSA.

The trucking company had 21 injuries and 42 tow-aways over the past 24
months.

According to the SAFER database, MTI was cited for acute/critical
violations in two categories: controlled substances/alcohol and driver
fitness.

A check on SAFER shows that MTI’s common, contract and broker authorities remain active. MTI had two compliance reviews on July 7 and July 25,
according to FMCSA data.

As of publication Friday, MTI had not filed a notice of its impending
closure in Illinois, Tennessee, Pennsylvania or Florida.

One longtime former MTI driver said he was surprised by the news the
company was ceasing operations but said that drivers had started receiving notices over the past few months to ensure their log books were certified
after each run and to watch their speed and improve their on-time
performance.

“I don’t know what happened because we had a lot of postal contracts all
over the U.S.,” a former MTI driver told FreightWaves. “I [don’t know if]
the USPS is just finding out like us [that] the mail will be sitting on
the docks on Monday.”

A media spokesperson with the Postal Service did not immediately return FreightWaves’ request for comment.

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/illinois-trucking-company-with-480- drivers-abruptly-ceases-operations

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