While speculation throughout the industry rises over Yellow Corp.’s ultimate fate and some question which shippers and intermediaries have already stopped working with the company, one outfit has made it public that it won’t be placing loads with the less-than-truckload carrier.
On Wednesday, a representative with transportation management provider Uber Freight (NYSE: UBER) confirmed to FreightWaves it has made the decision to temporarily stop tendering freight to the company.
“To mitigate the impact on our customers and their logistics, we’re temporarily suspending tenders where Uber Freight holds the contract with Yellow and rapidly diverting capacity across our network to maintain the flow of goods,” the spokesperson stated. “We are continuing to monitor the situation and will make adjustments as needed.”
The Teamsters union announced Tuesday that workers at operating companies YRC Freight and Holland could strike as soon as Monday if the carrier doesn’t catch up on contribution payments to health and pension plans managed by Central State Funds.
In a delinquency notice to plan participants, Central States’ board of trustees said Monday the carrier had withheld a required payment on Saturday and that it planned to withhold the Aug. 15 payment as well. The group said payments for both months total $50 million.
In June, Yellow made a request to Central States to defer payments, apparently to no avail.
A Tuesday evening statement from Yellow said the company had advised Central States it would defer payments for June and July “to preserve liquidity as it worked to obtain meetings with the [Teamsters] as well as secure additional financing.
“The company intends to repay the funds with interest immediately upon securing additional financing and has asked the funds to discuss acceptable terms.”
Yellow and the Teamsters have been unable to agree to terms on a second phase of operational changes, which the carrier maintains are required for its survival.
A representative from Yellow was not immediately available for comment.
More FreightWaves articles by Todd Maiden
- Teamsters issue strike notice at Yellow
- J.B. Hunt still working through bottom of cycle
- Yellow says it’s not paying even as potential strike looms
John B
Let yellow go under no more bail outs for a failing company.
Retired
YRC is done and the doors will shut for good. When you combine the current market conditions and a poor cash position by Yellow, the strike will be unrecoverable.
Winning
Anytime Teamsters is involved, the members are inevitably going to get the short end of the stick. Vote the union out.
cfdockman
This is not like the Consolidated Freightways bankruptcy. CF paid full wages and into the pension till the end. Yellow has just milked everyone out of millions, still going out of business and still want more. It’s time to end this charade. It’s not the fault of the union, the union gave back to Yellow. What about the Yellow Management?
Cristina Flores
I have worked for a beautiful companies, people needs to be more polite with each other, it is that simple, it is so hard to work on environments that don’t create leaders, without leaders there are no teams and there is no motivation to stay, we all have dreams we all want to get somewhere and companies do that for all the people. Companies in general, should inform why they are hiring their employers for, what are their expectations, their goals so people can actually understand their value and help others on all of their strengths, not only what they are hired for but to build reputations.
Ker
Hawkins’ and O’Brien’s pi**ing contest is ruining the lives of 22,000 people. Central States Fund also could have covered the expenditure to easily extended the healthcare coverage, but made the decision not to do so, putting the health and lives of members in jeopardy. And the ‘self pay’ option is at a ludicrous price point, making it no option at all for most. There is fault on both sides….and it’s the members who are shouldering the entire fallout.
Members should pressure their local to send notice to O’Brien, directly, that people want to KEEP THEIR JOBS. Yellow is a s**t show of a company, certainly. But the IBT should make themselves present at the negotiating table. With even a modicum of participation, the lenders may provide the necessary funding. It’s in THEIR best interests to keep Yellow going, otherwise, they have little chance of recovering what’s already been sunk into the company.
Bottom line….those at the top should take the chips off their shoulder and show up to actually NEGOTIATE for the sake of the employees/members. If they don’t, many, many families could lise everything they’ve worked so hard to build.
DAVID JENSEN
Been driving for 30+ yrs went from company driver to owner operator here recently .. Does anyone not realize the fuel cost and the crappy freight market that this is making every company have finanical issues some way or another …. Yall keep looking at the ceo’s of the companines and there saleries … Try running a multi million dollor company and see the stress and hard ships through there eyes cause they have stock holders and there employees to try to keep happy and producue profitable numbers to its share holders .. If they dont produce they get the axe to and loose there jobs… yall want a solution but yall are creating more problems … The ceo of yellow could come in and let everyone loose there jobs and close the doors and then where would yall be because of the demands of the union. Is the union going to find yall another job if yellow goes out of business , are they going to pay your bills and keep a roof over your head.. Just a few things im wondering cause i see another Consolidated Freight fixing to happen again ….
Freight Zippy
Less cheap 3Pl freight is a great thing. Perhaps Yellow and every other LTL Carrier should have shed 3PL’s in 2021. They are like locusts, they ravage a carrier until they kill it then move on…