Celadon Faces Stock Delisting, Must Restate Financial Results
Troubles continue to mount for Indiana-based trucking company Celadon Group Inc. after it launched an internal investigation into its accounting practices nearly a year ago.

Celadon 2014 file photo

Troubles continue to mount for Indiana-based trucking company Celadon Group Inc. after it launched an internal investigation into its accounting practices nearly a year ago. Celadon’s stock will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange after the company announced the accounting errors are so extensive that it will have to restate its financial results going back to 2014 and will not be able to issue revised results by an NYSE deadline.
Last May, Celadon’s auditor raised questions about its finances, especially those involving a joint venture and the sale of leased equipment.
At that time Celadon said financial statements for 2016, when the deal with completed, could no longer be relied upon. This week it announced the internal investigation and management review have identified errors that will require adjustments to the previously issued 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 financial statements.
“The income statement impacts relating to these adjustments are expected to reduce net income before income taxes by a range of $200 million-$250 million cumulatively over the three-year period ended June 30, 2016,” Celadon said this week in a statement. “In addition to considering the impact on these periods, the company is reviewing the impact for the first two quarters of 2017.”
Most of the accounting adjustments relate to equipment sales that took place between former Celadon subsidiary Quality Cos. and 19th Capital, a joint venture between Celadon and the Pennsylvania-based private equity firm Larsen MacColl Partners, according to the Indiana Business Journal. Also involved was another joint venture formed by Celadon and Canada-based Element Fleet Management.
Since that time, Celadon has disposed of Quality Cos., and most of the company’s senior leadership team has been replaced.
In the meantime, trading in Celadon stock has been halted, with it closing at $3.45 per share on Monday, the last day it was traded. That’s down from a 52-week high of $8.53 per share a little more than $27 per share nearly three years ago.
Before this week’s developments, the financial information website Seeking Alpha said Celadon’s stock was worthless.
The Wall Street Journal reported this week Celadon had about $380.5 million in total debt as of December 2016, the latest date for which figures are available, and about $136.7 million in liquidity, according to information it obtained.
Celadon has not publicly reported its earnings since it did so for the final quarter of 2016 in February 2017.
At least two law firms announced they are launching their own investigations into Celadon to determine whether previous management may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.
Last October, Celadon announced it was under investigation by the Securities Exchange Commission.
At one time it was estimated Celadon was the 33rd largest for-hire carrier in the U.S. based on annual 2017 revenue of a little more than $1 billion, with 6,000 employees, 7,050 tractors and 15,000 trailers, according to Transport Topics newspaper’s rankings. This week the company said it has cut its domestic truckload division fleet size by 20% to approximately 1,900 seated tractors, excluding those it owns but run under a banner other than Celadon. Last year it got out of the driver training business and sold its flatbed division.
Company founder Steve Russell died in April 2016 at age 76 after stepping away earlier from the business, which he started in 1985.
More Fleet Management

How Innovative Trucking Leaders Turn Change Into an Advantage
As the pace of change accelerates in trucking, the fleets that adapt best have more than the latest technology. They have cultures that embrace improvement.
Read More →
Freight Broker Bonds Just Got Harder to Get. Here's What That Means for Your Fleet.
When it gets harder for a freight broker to prove they are financially sound, the ones who cannot clear that bar get pushed out of the market. And those are exactly the brokers who used to leave motor carriers holding the bag.
Read More →
Long-Awaited Canadian Border Bridge to Open in Detroit
For trucking, the bridge opening should offer immediate improvements in efficiency and reliability, with new customs facilities, expanded inspection capacity, and direct freeway-to-freeway connections.
Read More →
Aurora Rolls Out Next Generation of Driverless Trucks for Commercial Freight
Aurora's latest autonomous trucks it's rolling out with International feature lower-cost hardware designed for a million miles as the company expands commercial driverless freight operations across the U.S. Sun Belt.
Read More →
Freight Tonnage Down, Rates up, as Lower Capacity Powers Trucking Recovery
The recovery from the freight recession continues to be driven by reduction in capacity rather than by increased demand.
Read More →
Think Your Trucking Fleet Isn't Using Much AI? Think Again
Shadow AI — the use of unauthorized artificial intelligence tools at work — is becoming increasingly common, putting sensitive company data at risk. Learn how trucking fleets can protect sensitive data while embracing AI.
Read More →
ArcBest Consolidates Brands, Cuts Workforce
The company will bring three business units under the ArcBest brand, eliminate about 2% of positions, and expects the changes to generate $40 million in annual savings.
Read More →
Trucking Fleets Faced Record Operating Costs During Third Year of Freight Recession
ATRI's annual operational cost report shows carriers trimmed fleets, delayed equipment purchases, and ran older trucks as expenses continued to outpace freight rates.
Read More →
Michelin Adds AI Assistant to MyConnectedFleet Platform
Michelin’s new generative AI tool delivers instant fleet insights, helping managers analyze fuel use, tire maintenance, vehicle status, and operational performance without manually creating reports.
Read More →
LytxOne Platform Now Features AI, Compliance, and Asset Tracking Tools
New enhancements add AI-powered insights, asset tracking, compliance automation, and configurable privacy controls to Lytx's all-in-one fleet management platform.
Read More →
