Two Miami-based trucking companies have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
A1 Transport Network and AB Brothers USA both filed petitions Saturday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida.
According to the trucking companies’ petitions, Ivan Antigua Escobar is listed as president of A1 Transport Network and serves as general manager of AB Brothers USA, which lists Johania Tomas Diaz as president.
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s SAFER website, A1 Transport Network has 64 drivers and 25 power units, while AB Brothers USA has 11 drivers and two power units.
A1 Transport and AB Brothers both list their assets as between $500,000 and $1 million, and liabilities as between $1 million and $10 million. Both petitions state the trucking firms have up to 49 creditors.
While A1 Transport’s petition states that no funds will be available to unsecured creditors once administrative expenses are paid, AB Brothers maintains that funds will be available for unsecured creditors.
No reason was given as to why the carriers filed for bankruptcy protection, but both seek to reorganize, according to the petitions.
Both trucking companies are represented by bankruptcy attorney Jeffrey Schatzman of Miami. As of publication time Monday, Schatzman had not responded to FreightWaves’ request seeking comment.
A1 Transport Network
The three largest creditors with nonpriority unsecured claims against A1 Transport Network are Penske Truck Leasing of Reading, Pennsylvania, owed more than $449,000 for accrued lease payments for 24 Freightliner trucks; ATX MCA Fund LLC of New York, New York, owed $409,000 for a breach-of-contract judgment it obtained against A1 Transport; and the Florida Department of Financial Services Division of Workers’ Compensation in Tallahassee, owed nearly $156,000 for workers’ compensation.
A1 Transport Network, which hauls general freight, is disputing the claims by ATX MCA Fund and Penske, according to the petition.
The carrier’s gross revenues from Jan. 1 until its bankruptcy filing date are over $3.7 million. Its petition states the company made around $8.8 million in 2023 and about $215,000 in ’22.
FMCSA granted A1 Transport Network’s common carrier authority in February 2017, but it was temporarily revoked in early June 2022 before being reinstated later that month. Its insurance is slated to be canceled this Saturday.
A1 Transport Network’s trucks had been inspected 101 times, and 25 had been placed out of service in a 24-month period, resulting in a nearly 25% out-of-service rate. This is higher than the industry’s national average of around 22.3%, according to FMCSA.
The trucking company’s drivers had been inspected 153 times over the same 24-month period, with eight drivers being placed out of service, resulting in a 5% out-of-service rate. This is lower than the national average of around 6.7%, according to FMCSA.
In the past two years, the company’s trucks had been involved in three tow-aways.
AB Brothers USA
According to the company’s website, AB Brothers USA specializes in shared and full truckload services as well as hauling expedited freight.
The three largest creditors with unsecured claims listed in the petition are Ryder Truck Rental in Alpharetta, Georgia, owed nearly $279,000; Electronic Funds Source LLC of Ogden, Utah, owed about $183,000; and Freight Factoring Specialists LLC of Hollywood, Florida, owed nearly $137,000.
AB Brothers USA is disputing the claims by Ryder and Freight Factoring Specialists, according to the petition.
Creditors with secured claims by property include CEFI of Coral Gables, Florida, owed $182,000 for three dry van trailers, and Crossroads Equipment Lease and Finance of Rancho Cucamonga, California, owed about $234,000 for five dry van trailers.
In the petition, AB Brothers USA lists A1 Transport Network as a co-debtor for creditor Penske Truck Leasing.
The carrier’s gross revenues from Jan. 1 until its bankruptcy filing date are over $3.9 million. Its petition states the company made around $6.7 million in 2023 and about $13.5 million in ’22.
AB Brothers USA’s common carrier authority was granted in July 2016. Its insurance is scheduled to be canceled this Saturday, according to FMCSA’s SAFER website.
Over the past 24-months, AB Brothers USA’s trucks had been inspected 10 times, and three had been placed out of service, resulting in a 30% out-of-service rate. This is higher than the industry’s national average of around 22.3%.
According to FMCSA, the trucking company’s drivers had been inspected 15 times over the same 24-month period, with one driver being placed out of service, resulting in a 6.7 % out-of-service rate, the same as the national average.
In the past two years, the company’s trucks had not been involved in any crashes..
Creditors’ meetings for the two trucking firms haven’t been scheduled yet.
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