New England Motor Freight (NEMF), whose trucks have been commonplace on roadways in Westchester and Fairfield counties, has voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Ten entities related to NEMF also were included in the petition filed in federal court in Newark, New Jersey.
NEMF and its sister entities are primarily owned by the Shevell Dynasty Trust and Myron P. Shevell. Shevell is the father of Nancy Shevell, who is married to former Beatle Paul McCartney.
NEMF and the other entities have been operating approximately 36 freight terminals and other facilities in 15 states, according to the petition. These included a plant at 194 Neelytown Road in Montgomery, near Newburgh, and one in Meriden, Connecticut, at 475 Research Parkway.
NEMF”™s payroll was put at 3,100 employees with a weekly gross expenditure of approximately $3 million. The company”™s gross revenues in 2018 were estimated at $343 million, with the consolidated revenues for all entities included in the bankruptcy petition estimated at $370 million. The petition said that the entities have been losing money, including an aggregate operating loss of $20.9 million in 2017 and a $16.2 million loss in 2018. It said that management”™s projections for 2019 showed an anticipated loss of $24 million. It also said that the aggregate cash position at the end of 2018 was $7.8 million, a drop of $16.4 million from the amount it had on hand at the end of 2017.
Many of NEMF”™s workers who were laid off are members of Local 447 of District 15 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. A New York state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice, required to be filed for significant layoffs and plant closings, listed eight NEMF locations in New York that were closing. It said there were 518 employees at those sites. The company”™s director of human resources, when contacted by the Business Journal, declined to answer any questions about the bankruptcy filing.
The freight transportation trade publication Transport Topics ranked NEMF 18th in the U.S. for 2018.
