A bankruptcy court recently approved Missoula MT-based Jim Palmer Trucking’s plan to pay back creditors, permitting the truckload carrier to emerge from Chapter 11.
Jim Palmer will continue to operate its 250 trucks serving 40 states. The carrier has 360 employees.
Through the bankruptcy process Jim Palmer was able to restructure its leases and equipment contracts as well as make operational improvements such as increasing the owner-operator fleet by 72%.
“While the bankruptcy was a difficult period for us, the restructuring strengthened our operations and our continued viability,” said Lonnie Wallace, president of Jim Palmer. “Over the last year we have seen over 7% of capacity exit the industry. We are very fortunate to have survived these challenging economic times. Our management team and employees are eager and committed to carrying out the new business plan. Our capital structure will now allow us to remain competitive in the industry.
“This is definitely a positive for us, but it’s still a challenge out there,” said Wallace. “Rates are a struggle right now; that’s our number one issue.”
