Less-than-truckload carrier LME has reportedly “suddenly and abruptly” shut down its operations, according to FreightWaves.
The company is a regional carrier based in Minnesota that operated throughout the Midwest. The company had terminals in 30 locations across the U.S. and through interline agreements services all of North America. It also worked with major companies like 3M, John Deere and Toro.
The company reportedly included “over 600 men and women” and has been listed as having 382 power units and 1,228 trailers, with 424 truck drivers.
LME had previously been entangled in litigation with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regarding disputes with Lakeville Motor Express, which shut down abruptly before Thanksgiving 2016. Lakeville had to declare bankruptcy after it was ordered to pay $1.25 million in backpay, according to a June 2019 Star Tribune article:
About 95 Lakeville Motor Express truckers and dockworkers were abruptly locked out of their Roseville job site without notice or pay just before Thanksgiving 2016. While Lakeville Motor Express filed for bankruptcy, affected workers claimed the entity actually continued to operate, just at a different location in the Twin Cities and under the new name LME Inc.
The NLRB ordered the $1.25 million in backpay to be paid starting within 60 days from April 30, 2019, or the amount would double to $2.4 million.
Lakeville reportedly was bankrupted on purpose and was brought back as a non-union carrier under the LME and Finish Line Express brand names. LME had been described by the NLRB as an “the alter-ego” of Lakeville Motor Express. LME’s website says “effective immediately LME will no longer be accepting any pickups.”
As FreightWaves noted, this is the fifth major closure in 2019, after NEMF, Falcon, Williams Trucking and A.L.A.
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