Owner-operators say Titan Transportation Services Inc., doing business as Sunset Logistics, still hasn’t refunded their $1,000 in escrow or maintenance account funds that were withheld from their paychecks after the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based company abruptly ceased operations on Sept. 29.
Company drivers say they haven’t been paid for two weeks’ work for Sunset Logistics, while motor carriers that hauled freight through the company’s brokerage claim they are owed thousands of dollars — and no one is picking up the phone.
One truck driver told FreightWaves he was stranded in North Dakota without a working fuel card when he found out that Sunset Logistics was shuttering operations. The driver, who lives in Texas, said it took him nearly two weeks to find another trucking company that would hire him.
“I’m two paychecks in the hole and behind on bills,” the truck driver, who worked for Sunset Logistics, told FreightWaves.
In an email sent to drivers on Friday and obtained by FreightWaves, Sunset Logistics said it was waiting on an upcoming meeting with its lender “to determine if we can pay a final paycheck and pay escrow” to the company’s drivers and owner-operators.
“It is in their hands but please understand that we are doing everything we can to make sure [you are] paid what you are owed,” Mason Gainey, customer services and sales agent for Sunset Logistics, said in the email.
While Mason Gainey was listed as the contact for drivers to call, the email was signed by his father, Harvey N. “Buddy” Gainey III. According to the Michigan secretary of state incorporation documents, Buddy Gainey is listed as the owner, treasurer, secretary and director of Sunset Logistics.
As of publication Wednesday, Buddy Gainey had not responded to FreightWaves’ requests seeking comment about when he plans to meet with his lenders.
However, online records show that Gainey’s home is listed for sale for nearly $2 million in Kent County, Michigan.
The Gainey family is well known in the transportation industry. Buddy’s father, Harvey N. Gainey II, who died in November 2021, owned Michigan-based Gainey Corp., which filed for bankruptcy in 2008 after the senior Gainey failed to repay more than $238 million of a $260 million loan to lender Wachovia Corp.
In an email to nearly 90 truck drivers and employees, Buddy Gainey blamed the economy and freight rates for Sunset Logistics’ ceasing operations.
“The economy has been horrid, freight has been slow and rates have been in the toilet,” Gainey said in the email, obtained by FreightWaves. “Combine that with the fact that all of our costs have continued to rise — from fuel to driver wages to truck prices, tires, and on and on.”
One driver who received the email said that Buddy claims he paid $850,000 out of pocket to keep the company afloat.
“My question is, why can’t the same be done to pay the drivers out of pocket? It seems like the people that matter really didn’t matter,” the truck driver told FreightWaves.
Another driver, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, said he was about two hours from home on Sept. 29 when he was notified of the company’s closure. The driver said he was told that Sunset Logistics had been going through financial struggles since March and that the owner had used hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own money to keep the business afloat.
The driver said others working for Sunset Logistics weren’t so lucky and were scattered across the country without working fuel cards when they received word the company was ceasing operations.
Those drivers were instructed to return their trucks to the nearest Ryder dealership.
Another driver, who lives in Tennessee, stated that she was notified that Sunset Logistics was ceasing operations after delivering to one of the carrier’s customers in Minnesota.
The driver, who has worked in the trucking industry for more than 20 years, claims she was “ghosted” by Sunset Logistics executives, who wouldn’t answer the phone or respond to emails about what to do with her truck after receiving the news the carrier was shuttering operations.
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s SAFER website, Sunset Logistics had 90 power units and the same number of drivers.
FMCSA data states its trucks had been inspected 89 times and 23 had been placed out of service in a 24-month period, resulting in a nearly 26% rate, which is higher than the industry’s national average of about 22.3%. Drivers for Sunset Logistics were inspected 184 times and six were placed out of service, resulting in a 3.3% out-of-service rate. The national average is nearly 7%. Over the past 24 months, its trucks have been involved in three injury crashes and 15 towaways.
The company’s insurance is slated to be canceled Nov. 4, according to FMCSA.
One former driver said Sunset Logistics had hired four new drivers the week company executives announced it was shutting down.
“I feel bad for those drivers,” the source told FreightWaves. “The company wasted their time because the drivers were never able to earn any money and were likely stranded.”
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Badalandabad
Greg if you actually knew anything how a trucking company operates, you would know that those things that you are saying have no basis in reality. This is America(capitalism). Walmart is a great company which has billions made even before they made their trucking division. So they are skimming of the brokerage rates which are overpaid and some cents from products transorted in order to pay that ampunt of money to drivers. Regular trucking company does not have diversified income portfolio that they can pay abnormal trucker paychecks. Most problems in the indurstry right now are brokerages taking over too much of the industry, taking large profits. Second is bad bad truckers who are doing drugs, late on deliveries, sleeping and still yelling on the phone asking for more money that they never earned. On top of that more and more careless ppl getting in to the industry. More stolen freight, never returned trucks after a lease etc…Higher insurance, more control from police, more made up violations,more drug legalizations etc… all of those things are a problem even before you get in to the math behind a trucking company expence for fuel,repairs,operations etc. I wish people were more aware of their own mistakes of changing 10 companies within a year, just because somebody told them a fairy tale. Turnover is crazy… no matter what people sign. They just don’t care. If they were more aware that those detrimental moves have a long term cons. Everybody would be happier. If you have less turnover,less money is needed for recruiting, marketing etc… more money to the driver. Less insurance cost(lower accidents-better dependable drivers)- more money to the driver. Less theft – more money to the driver.
Less fuel theft – more moeny to the driver… etc.
Go, make a company which looks like a la la la land. I will join you. We will last about 3-4 months. 🙂 Good luck.
Gregg
Why not do a story on slavery in trucking. Yes nearly every single otr driver is a slave. Look up the definition. A person that does work that benefits others with no compensation that is confined and not able to move about freely. This is facilitated by our own Federal government. It’s even required by the government. The exemption from the Fair Labor Standards Act makes it legal. There is no reason any job in my opinion should be exempt. Particularly an essential job like truck driving. There are no otr companies that pay a driver for all time worked. Outside of collective bargaining agreements which are never otr and the largest retailers transportation division which is regional there are zero trucking companies that do. We are not paid to fuel, inspect, scale or adjust to bridge scale. Some get a tiny bit of detention at a shipper or receiver most get nothing. Fmcsa hos regs say those hours must be logged as on duty. No one does that because they are not paid for those hours. It’s a way to falsify e logs. The 8 hour rule which started as a break now can be anything other than driving. Even a random dot inspection at a scale house or in the road is not compensated though must be logged as work. We could be stuck for days due to road closures in winter while earning nothing. If we are driving and are trapped in accident or construction traffic for hours with average speeds if 10 mph at .70/ mile we make less than minimum wage. The miles we earn are not actual miles that are necessary to travel but an arbitrary number that someone decides sitting behind a desk (sometimes a 25%. Shortfall or more). What about the time we can not leave the truck when we are not on duty not driving or driving but can not leave and pursue our own interests. Technically that is work and should also be compensated. I no longer drive because I was diagnosed with MS which makes obtaining a medical card impossible. I do still ride as an authorized passenger. I had 2 million plus miles and a CSA score of zero when I was trucking. The issue is still affecting those I care for. Isn’t it high time we moved to mandate hourly pay for all work. I have friends and acquaintances that work for Walmart transportation. They are paid for all work. Every moment of it. They receive 10 hours hourly for resting in their bunks daily. They are paid hourly for every minute at a store while waiting to be unloaded. They are paid actual mileage. They are paid to fuel, inspect and scale out loads. If they break down they’re paid hourly while they wait and a hotel is paid for along with transportation to and from it. The drivers I know work splits and I guess that varies from DC to DC. Some work a 7 on 6 off then 6 on 7 off. Some work 3 then 4 and reverse. So they only work 1/2 a year and make north of 120k annually. They are afforded actual benefits such as PTO, paid vacations, bereavement leave, health, dental, vision, disability insurance options and matching 401k. This is the largest retail organization in the country that is known for its competitive pricing. They make billions in profits. Why can’t regular trucking companies come close to that? Personally I believe it’s greed and poor management. Hourly rates for drivers and removing the FLSA exemptions would be a huge adjustment. It would cause retail prices to rise. But not as much as one might think. It would cause shippers and receivers to be more efficient and not waste drivers time. Rates to move freight would rise as well, some pretty drastically. This would help not hurt trucking companies. It would help manufacturers. The freight rate wars would end and become more uniform. Why should drivers bear the costs and not the consumers that the serve? Thank you for reading the email.