National Road Logistics Files Chapter 11 With .7 Million in Liabilities

National Road Logistics, LLC, a Signal Hill, California-based freight carrier and logistics company, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on April 6, 2026, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California (Case No. 26-13324). The petition lists ~$1.6 million in total assets against ~$43.7 million in liabilities. The filing states that no funds are expected to be available for distribution to unsecured creditors after payment of administrative expenses. Counsel for the debtor is Anerio Ventura Altman of Lake Forest Bankruptcy.

Debtor	National Road Logistics, LLC
Court	U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Central District of California
Case Number	26-13324
Petition Date	April 6, 2026
Total Assets	~$1.6 million
Total Liabilities	~$43.7 million
President	Paul Dukesherer
Debtor's Counsel	Anerio Ventura Altman, Lake Forest Bankruptcy

Southern California Drayage Operator With Multi-Location Footprint

National Road Logistics operates as an interstate for-hire carrier headquartered at 2651 Walnut Avenue in Signal Hill, minutes from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The company provides bonded and non-bonded drayage, transload, warehousing, and truckload services, with additional operations in Newark, Savannah, and Houston. National Road also offers cross-border service into Mexico and Canada.

Warehousing and yard capacity. The company operates 361,000 square feet of fully bonded warehouse space and maintains over 4.5 acres of container yard storage in the greater Los Angeles area. Its Torrance facility includes over 6 acres of surrounding storage yards with Class A bonded warehouse designation.

Fleet and chassis assets. FMCSA records list 27 power units and 35 drivers under USDOT No. 3062272 (MC-55966). The carrier hauls general freight, intermodal containers, and motor vehicles. National Road maintains a privately owned chassis pool of over 700 units, including 600-plus standard 20-foot and 40-foot chassis and over 100 triaxle chassis, providing equipment availability across multiple markets. Despite the multi-location footprint and chassis inventory, the debtor's physical assets at filing are limited: two Freightliner Cascadia tractors valued at ~$31,000, cash of $411,000 and accounts receivable of $655,790. Retirement accounts of ~$354,000 account for most of the remaining asset value.

Leadership. Paul Dukesherer, listed as president in the petition, serves as CEO and owner of National Road Logistics. Dukesherer is also associated with Platinum Cargo Logistics, a related freight forwarding entity. The company has been registered with FMCSA since October 25, 2017.

Liability Profile and Top Creditors

The petition reflects a 27-to-1 liability-to-asset ratio. The debtor listed ~$7.5 million in secured claims, including equipment liens and financing arrangements. Unsecured claims account for the bulk of the $43.7 million in total liabilities.

Top unsecured claims. The largest unsecured creditors include Nordstrom, holding a $9.5 million claim arising from a lease deficiency; Prologis Management, holding an $8.3 million vendor claim; and Sunshine Distribution, holding up to $7.5 million in breach-of-contract claims. Additional unsecured creditors include Milestone Equipment Company ($6.5 million) and McKinney Trailer Rentals ($1.1 million).

Creditor composition. Nordstrom's claim arises from a lease deficiency, and Prologis holds a vendor claim. Milestone Equipment and McKinney Trailer are equipment lessors. A prepetition breach-of-contract lawsuit by Sunshine Distribution preceded the bankruptcy filing.

Asset-liability gap. The $43.7 million liability total against $1.6 million in assets produces a 27-to-1 ratio. The debtor's two Freightliner Cascadia tractors carry a combined value of approximately $31,000, while the company's over 700 chassis do not appear as owned assets on the petition schedules, consistent with the lease obligations owed to Milestone Equipment and McKinney Trailer.

Freight Recession and Carrier Attrition

National Road Logistics enters bankruptcy during a prolonged downturn in the U.S. trucking sector. The freight industry has faced reduced shipping demand, lower freight rates, and rising costs of labor, fuel, and insurance since 2022, a period commonly referred to as the Great Freight Recession.

Carrier exit data. FMCSA operating authority data showed a net contraction of nearly 10,000 motor carriers in the first half of 2024, on top of approximately 88,000 trucking authorities revoked in 2023. Carrier shutdowns continued at a rate of 1,000 to 1,500 carriers per week in early 2025. By late 2024, half of all carrier exits involved operators older than three years, up from 37% in 2023, indicating that the downturn had begun reaching established fleets rather than only pandemic-era entrants.

Recent industry filings. STG Logistics, the fourth-largest asset-based intermodal marketing company in the U.S., filed for chapter 11 on January 12, 2026, to restructure approximately $1 billion in debt. STG's CEO cited "one of the most severe freight recessions in history" as context for that filing. Operating expenses across the sector have risen 2 to 3% annually while freight rate gains have lagged, compressing margins for small and mid-sized fleets. Class 8 truck sales fell 11.5% year over year through October 2025, and new truck orders ran 22% behind the 2024 pace, reflecting reduced capital investment across the sector.

Port Volumes and Southern California Drayage Pressure

Drayage carriers operating near the Southern California port complex face additional headwinds from shifting trade patterns. The Port of Los Angeles processed 812,000 TEUs in January 2026, a 12% year-over-year decline, with loaded imports down 13%. The Port of Long Beach reported 847,765 containers in January 2026, an 11% decrease from the prior year. Port officials attributed the declines in part to importers having frontloaded shipments in late 2025 ahead of tariff increases, creating a subsequent trough in early 2026.

Trade composition shifts. Containerized exports from the Port of Los Angeles to China declined 26% in 2025, and specific commodity categories saw larger drops, including an 80% reduction in soybean shipments. Iron and steel imports through Long Beach fell 32% in January 2026, and synthetic fiber imports dropped 43%.

California Regulatory and Cost Environment

California-based trucking operators face state-specific cost pressures beyond the national freight downturn.

AB5 labor classification. California's Assembly Bill 5, which subjects independent contractor relationships to an ABC classification test, has increased operating costs for drayage carriers. The Harbor Trucking Association estimates that approximately 80% of the 16,000 trucks operating at Southern California ports are independently operated, making the region's drayage sector particularly exposed to reclassification costs. Converting independent contractors to employee status adds an estimated 30 to 40% per driver in insurance, payroll taxes, and administrative overhead.

Emissions compliance. The California Air Resources Board's Advanced Clean Fleets regulation originally required that only zero-emission drayage trucks could register in the CARB system beginning January 1, 2024, with a full zero-emission mandate by 2035. CARB voted in October 2025 to repeal the drayage fleet provisions after failing to secure a federal EPA waiver, but carriers that had already begun compliance planning faced sunk costs.

Key Timeline

Date	Event
October 25, 2017	National Road Logistics receives FMCSA operating authority (USDOT No. 3062272)
2023	Sunshine Distribution files breach-of-contract lawsuit against National Road Logistics
April 6, 2026	National Road Logistics files chapter 11 petition (Case No. 26-13324)
April 8, 2026	Filing reported by news outlets

Frequently Asked Questions

What does National Road Logistics do?

National Road Logistics is an interstate freight carrier and logistics company based in Signal Hill, California. The company provides drayage, transload, warehousing, and truckload services, operating 361,000 square feet of bonded warehouse space near the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, with additional locations in Newark, Savannah, and Houston.

How much does National Road Logistics owe?

The chapter 11 petition lists ~$43.7 million in total liabilities against ~$1.6 million in assets. Secured claims total ~$7.5 million. The largest unsecured creditors include Nordstrom ($9.5 million), Prologis ($8.3 million), and Sunshine Distribution ($7.5 million). Additional unsecured creditors include Milestone Equipment Company ($6.5 million) and McKinney Trailer Rentals ($1.1 million).

Will unsecured creditors receive any recovery?

The petition states that no funds are expected to be available for distribution to unsecured creditors after payment of administrative expenses.

Who represents National Road Logistics in the bankruptcy case?

Anerio Ventura Altman of Lake Forest Bankruptcy serves as debtor's counsel.

What caused the filing?

The petition cites rising debt obligations and legal disputes. The filing comes during the Great Freight Recession, a downturn that has persisted since 2022 and resulted in tens of thousands of carrier exits nationwide.

For more bankruptcy case coverage, visit the ElevenFlo bankruptcy blog.