Two Longtime Logistics Firms Shut Down in Illinois and Washington

Two logistics providers, Chicago Suburban Express (CSX) in Illinois and MacMillan-Piper in Washington, have announced permanent closures, marking a notable setback for regional trucking and transloading services.

These closures come amid ongoing financial pressures in the U.S. logistics sector, with market volatility, tighter margins, and disrupted funding impacting operators nationwide.

Chicago Suburban Express to Close After 60+ Years

Founded in 1963, Forest View-based Chicago Suburban Express will cease operations on Friday, July 19, according to company officials.

• The company operated 33 power units and employed 41 drivers, according to FMCSA SAFER data as of September 2024.
• CSX specialized in same-day pickup and truckload services across Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and parts of Missouri.
• The company did not offer an official explanation for the closure, but the confirmation adds to a pattern of strain among smaller and midsize carriers.

The SAFER database also shows that four of CSX’s trucks were put out of service in the past two years, including one due to a hazmat violation.

MacMillan-Piper, GSC Transport Also Shut Down in Washington

In the Pacific Northwest, MacMillan-Piper, once the largest transloading operator in the region, ceased operations on July 10. The company cited the loss of operational funding in its Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filing.

• 92 employees across five facilities in Seattle and Tacoma were laid off.
• MacMillan-Piper had been acquired by GSC Logistics Inc., which also filed WARN notices for GSC Transport and GSC Solutions, affecting a combined 17 additional employees.
• According to the filings, the company’s primary lender terminated funding unexpectedly, and efforts to secure alternative financing or sell the business failed.

“This unexpected and unforeseeable development left the company without viable alternatives,” GSC stated in its filing.

MacMillan-Piper, founded in 1969, had handled over 20,000 containers in the region in the last two years, according to company materials. It had once played a key role in facilitating cargo at the ports of Seattle and Tacoma.

A Sign of Industry Strain

The simultaneous closures of two multi-decade logistics companies continues to show the instability in regional freight markets. Challenges in operational costs, financing, and trade policy volatility are creating unsustainable pressure, particularly for companies reliant on tight margins or single-source funding.

Source: FreightWaves | Transport Topics