An Indiana-based trucking company recently filed for Chapter 11, more than a month after the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ordered the carrier to suspend interstate operations after receiving an unsatisfactory rating.
JCB Trucking Enterprises LLC, headquartered in Lafayette, Indiana, filed its petition in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Indiana on March 18.
In its filing, JCB Trucking Enterprises lists its assets up to $50,000 and its liabilities between $1 million and $10 million. The trucking company says it has up to 49 creditors and says funds will be available for distribution to unsecured creditors once it pays administrative fees.
Its affiliate, JKM Storage and Rentals LLC, also based in Lafayette, filed for bankruptcy the same day.
Priority creditors listed in the petition include Michael C. Bloom and Jacob C. Bloom, who owed $4,500 each for March wages, and Kristen Bloom, who owed $2,400. All are listed as working at the trucking company’s headquarters in Lafayette.
Company owner Michael Bloom did not respond to FreightWaves’ request for comment.
Among the largest unsecured creditors are Lower Great Lakes Kenworth, a truck parts and service plant headquartered in South Bend, Indiana, which owed nearly $198,000; M&K Truck Leasing LLC of Byron Center, Michigan, owed more than $188,000; and Interactive Heritage Services of Indianapolis, owed more than $97,000. JCB Trucking Enterprises is contesting the claims of the three creditors in its bankruptcy petition.
The trucking company also lists the US Department of Transportation as a non-priority creditor “for potential fines resulting from an audit,” but no amount was listed.
History of security breaches
FMCSA data cites “denial of access” as the reason JCB Trucking Enterprises was taken out of service on February 18. ” March 21th. The company’s operating license had been revoked and reinstated three times previously since 2007, according to the FMCSA website.
The FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety and Accountability (CSA) system, used to prioritize enforcement action against motor carriers, indicates that JCB Trucking Enterprises exceeded the safety threshold in two out of seven BASICs against its peers. CSA data shows the trucking company had 89% safe driving and 93% HOS compliance.
Its trucks had been inspected 31 times and three had been taken out of service over a 24-month period, resulting in a rate of 16.7%, which is below the national industry average of about 21%. . JCB Truck Enterprises drivers were inspected 31 times and five were taken out of service, resulting in a 16% out-of-service rate. The national driver average is around 5.8%
Since the trucking company authority was granted in March 2001, JCB Truck Enterprises has been ordered to pay more than $17,000 in fines for enforcement cases in 2015 and 2018, according to data from the FMCSA.
Indiana trucking company drivers were involved in three crashes — two with injuries and one tow — over a 24-month period.
The last time one of the company’s trucks was inspected was in North Carolina on February 23. According to inspection data, the truck was taken out of service for “driving a commercial vehicle after the effective date of an unsatisfactory rating.”
A meeting of creditors is scheduled for April 19.
Do you have any advice? Contact Clarissa Hawes at [email protected].
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