Texas-Based Logistics Firm Hits Financial Rocks, Files for Bankruptcy Liquidation

U.S. Logistics Solutions, a company based in Texas, filed for bankruptcy liquidation on Thursday, claiming that its lender had cut off funding. As a result, the company was forced to close its doors and lay off a number of truck drivers, dock and warehouse workers, and sales and office staff. The private equity firm Ten Oaks Group, which owned the logistics company, released a statement to FreightWaves on Tuesday, stating that the company is “deeply disappointed by the lender's sudden decision to cease further funding for US Logistics Solutions, which left the company with no time to properly wind-down operations or provide advanced notice to employees.” A representative for the company stated that all USLS employees had received their last paychecks as of Tuesday, when this article was published, yet no specific date was provided. It's unclear if USLS paid the owner-operators and independent contractors who transported freight. USLS of Humble, Texas, filed a Chapter 7 petition in the Southern District of Texas U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Friday. USLS defines its assets as up to $100 million and its liabilities as between $100 million and $500 million in its basic petition. According to the closed business, there are up to 5,000 creditors, and unsecured creditors will be able to get funding. The executive chairman of Ten Oaks Group, Andrew Lovrovich, signed the five-page petition for USLS, but omitted the names of the company's principal secured and unsecured creditors. The choice to declare bankruptcy was not made hastily. According to the company's press release on Monday regarding filing for Chapter 7, "the leadership team investigated all feasible alternatives to avoid this outcome, including seeking additional investment and strategic partnerships." "But the company had no other options due to the sudden funding cessation." Ten Oaks Group was to purchase Forward Air's Pool Distribution operation for $20 million, according to a February 2021 FreightWaves report. $8 million in cash and a potential $12 million earn-out, contingent on financial performance, were the terms of the sale. Ten Oaks Group's first acquisition in the transportation sector was USLS, according to their website. After acquiring USLS, formerly known as Forward Air Solutions, Ten Oaks Group, with its headquarters located in Charlotte, North Carolina, relocated to Humble, Texas, from Greeneville, Tennessee. As of the time of publication, a few USLS clients claim they have not been able to find or get their freight from any of the company's nineteen terminals, which are primarily located in the nation's east. The game of numbers Ten Oaks Group argues that more than 2,000 workers were impacted by the shutdown, claiming that