A Missouri-based trucking company, which contracted with the U.S. Postal Service to haul mail, recently ceased operations and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Family-owned Polo-headquartered Rooney Trucking Inc. filed its petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri on Monday.

Attorney Ryan Blay told FreightWaves that “fuel and labor expenses were certainly issues that plagued Rooney Trucking Inc.”

“The biggest issue, however, was the US Postal Service’s decision to cut some routes and cancel some contracts,” Blay said. “The business could not operate profitably with a restricted revenue stream. It was the most important factor in the decision to declare bankruptcy for the company.

In its filing, the trucking company says it will not be able to fulfill its 14-month contract to transport U.S. mail within a 150-mile radius of Kansas City, Missouri, “due to anticipated loss of personnel following the bankruptcy filing and before USPS service cuts.

Some small courier contractors have struggled to stay afloat since the USPS announced it was revamping its $6.6 billion contract program with private trucking fleets in 2019. The program, known as the dynamic route optimization, changed the way private carriers were paid – from contract rates to paying trucking companies by mileage. This led to the consolidation of courier companies that could serve a larger area and crowded out some of the smaller private entrepreneurs in the industry.

According to the Chapter 7 petition, Rooney Trucking filed an appeal with the Postal Service Board of Contract Appeals on March 22.

In the filing, Rooney Trucking lists its assets up to $10 million and its liabilities from $500,000 to $1 million. The company, which has up to 49 creditors, argues that no funds will be available for distribution to unsecured creditors after administrative fees are paid.

The IRS is listed as the company’s largest unsecured creditor, owing nearly $200,000. The filing also lists the names of the truckers, but does not include any wage amounts owed to them.

The company, owned by Patrick and Dixie Rooney of Polo, was founded in 1955.

According to Rooney Trucking’s financial statements, its gross revenue from Jan. 1 through its date of filing for bankruptcy is $1 million. His petition says the company earned nearly $5.2 million in 2021 and about $5.7 million in 2020.

The 67-year-old trucking company had 37 drivers and 66 power units, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s SAFER website.

Its trucks were inspected 26 times and four were retired over a 24-month period, resulting in a 15.4% retirement rate, which is lower than the national industry average. about 21%, according to FMCSA data. .

Rooney’s drivers have been inspected 26 times and none have been taken out of service. The national average for drivers is around 5.9%. Rooney’s trucks were involved in three injury crashes and five tows during the same 24-month period.

A meeting of creditors is scheduled for June 10.

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