Transtar Linehaul collapses as administrators look to sell off trucking fleet

Another trucking company has fallen victim to the industry’s insolvency surge, with administrators undertaking an urgent sale campaign to sell off dozens of its fleet vehicles.

Major road transport operator Transtar Linehaul has entered administration.

Major road transport operator Transtar Linehaul has entered administration, becoming the latest casualty in a growing wave of industry shutdowns.

The business is known for providing scheduled linehaul services to various clients including Star Track Express, Couriers Please, Food and Dairy Co, Hunter Express and Aramex.

Administrators are now urgently undertaking a sale campaign to sell off dozens of its prime movers and trailers.

Insolvency expert Adam Shepard and Cameron Gray of Hamilton Murphy Advisory were appointed administrators on July 7, a notice lodged with the corporate regulator reveals.

It’s understood the company, which was founded in 2006, was operated out of Sydney where its directors are based, although the business was registered to a high-rise apartment on the Gold Coast.

Administrators are now undertaking an urgent sale campaign.

Company documents list James Lahood and Nicole Leon as directors.

The administrators are seeking expressions of interest for the company’s business and assets which include a fleet of 46 European prime movers and 70 drop deck tautliner trailers.

“Transtar Linehaul maintains a company wide service level greater than 99 per cent,” the administrators said.

Expressions of interest close on Monday.

While it is not yet known why the company collapsed, Australian Trucking Association chair Mark Parry said the number of insolvencies in the trucking industry had increased dramatically since the pandemic, from 92 in 2021-22 to 438 in 2024-25.

“High inflation and driver shortages of the last few years have put a great deal of pressure on businesses that have difficulty raising their contract prices or are exposed to families’ discretionary spending,” he said.

Mr Parry said the association was campaigning for government policies that would enhance productivity and Australia’s economic growth, including reducing red tape and non-value adding reporting activities.

Company documents list James Lahood as director. Picture: LinkedIn

National Road Transport Association chief executive Warren Clark said the vast majority of road freight companies were small businesses with average profit margins of just two per cent.

“The road freight sector has been under serious pressure for some time, with rising costs and no real productivity gains in the last decade meaning a number of road freight operators are being forced into administration,” he said.

“There’s also significant pressure from the end customer to reduce the price charged, but transport costs keep rising. It’s a race to the bottom as disruptors enter the market and undercut established businesses.

“We’re calling on the federal government to address the economic instability and cost uncertainty that operators have little control over – like variations in fuel prices, road congestion and road charges.”

This latest collapse adds to a string of insolvencies in the sector, including Don Watson Transport, Tailored Freight, Francis Transport and XL Express.

XL Express, a transport and logistics company which has been delivering packages out of its Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne sites for the past 35 years, went into voluntary administration earlier this month.

The national trucking company abruptly closed its doors, leaving about 200 jobs at risk and customers waiting for orders.

Originally published as Transtar Linehaul collapses as administrators look to sell off trucking fleet