The trucking company New Century Transportation is shutting down and filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation.

A copy of a June 9 letter to employees from the New Jersey-based carrier and obtained by Truckinginfo.com says the decision came when its lender “unexpectedly declined to continue funding regular business operations.” It goes on to say New Century then “immediately took steps to seek financing and other alternatives including a sale of all or part of the company, in order to continue operations, but to date, its efforts have been unsuccessful.”

The letter also states advance warning about the bankruptcy to employees was not possible any sooner because New Century says it would have precluded its ability to secure alternative financing or a sale of the company.

When contacted, a company official would neither confirm nor deny the closing and referred us to CEO Terrance Gilbert. There has been no response to a voicemail left by Truckinginfo.com for Gilbert. However, the Courier-Post newspaper, Camden, N.J., reports an employee who answered a call at the firm's headquarters confirmed the bankruptcy announcement and said workers had been informed of a planned shutdown.

The Westampton, N.J.-based carrier specialized in both truckload and less-than-truckload services with a fleet of 2,000 trucks, according to its website. The bankruptcy reportedly puts some 1,500 people out of work.

According to Transport Topics newspaper, New Century was ranked the 45th largest truckload carrier in the U.S and Canada by revenue last year, with $127 million in business. It was also ranked as the 30th largest LTL carrier, with $144 million in business.

New Century Transportation was founded in 2000 and also operated the affiliates North Wind Logistics and Western Freightways, a Colorado-based carrier it purchased in 2006.

In 2006, New Century Transportation's founder, Harry Muhlschlegel, was named an HDT Truck Fleet Innovator for his innovative TL/LTL model and early adoption of specs such as wide-base single tires.