Surge Transportation, a digital freight brokerage founded in 2016 by Omar Singh and based in Jacksonville, Fla., has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, FreightWaves.com reported. Sixteen of its top 20 creditors are factoring companies that pay small carriers. Officials at Surge told FreightWaves.com that the company is working with a financial sponsor and hopes to get its bankruptcy plan approved at a hearing this week. Over the past seven years, Surge grew to a workforce of more than 100 people and earned gross revenues of approximately $150 million in 2022. The bootstrapped 3PL built automated load-matching and pricing technology similar to its venture-funded competitors Uber Freight and Convoy and offered a suite of direct integrations into transportation management systems. Since the beginning of last year, the freight market has experienced a significant downturn. The fading of pandemic-era stimulus programs cooled the goods economy, and when combined with the abundant capacity that had built up, sent transportation prices through the floor.
