David Magarin, president and owner of Lone Star Dedicated, confirmed Monday that he’s shutting down the trucking company, which hauls refrigerated food nationwide, this month.
The company’s nearly 90 drivers were notified Friday that the carrier would be closing its doors after 12 years in business.
Lone Star Dedicated once had more than 150 drivers and hauled oil field equipment, but Magarin said he was forced to downsize and pivot to pulling reefers because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“At this point, I am just getting rid of a headache,” Magarin told FreightWaves. “I don’t like what’s coming down the pike. The company is still profitable but the margins are getting thinner and thinner. Interest rates are going up, the price of parts has tripled and the cost of new equipment is outrageous.”
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s SAFER data, Lone Star Dedicated has 102 power units and 86 drivers.
“The main reason why I kept the company going this long was because it provided jobs for a lot of people,” Magarin said.
Magarin added that he’s not planning to file for bankruptcy and that drivers will be paid once they return the equipment.
Lone Star Dedicated drivers were notified via email on Friday that their fuel cards were going to be shut off the next morning and that company executives would be activating the accounts as needed to deliver their loads.
According to one social media post about Lone Star Dedicated’s closure, “trucks are only fueling the miles they need and enough to have about one-fourth tank of fuel when you get to the yard.”
This is a developing story.
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