YRC Worldwide will be scratched from the Dow Jones Transportation Average on Dec. 11, the Dow Jones Indexes announced, as the less-than-truckload giant also faced the deadline for its debt-for-equity exchange Tuesday night

. YRC's spot on the Dow will be replaced by Delta Air Lines.

YRC launched the exchange program last month, in its latest effort to secure its financial strength. Through the transaction, the carrier hoped to trade about $536.8 million in debt for about 95 percent of its equity. The effort, if successful, would put the company in a more solid financial position by improving its capital structure, decreasing its cash interest expense and enhancing its near-term liquidity, YRC said in a statement.

But Dow Jones Indexes said YRC is being taken off the list because of the debt-for-equity swap plan. "If not enough bondholders agree to the exchange, many observers expect that YRC Worldwide Inc. could file for bankruptcy protection, which disqualifies a stock from being a component in any of the Dow Jones Averages," according to a Dow Jones press release.

If the exchange offer does not address the company's needs, the company would first try to amend the exchange offer, according to the Kansas City Business Journal. If the plan still isn't working, the company said it would seek relief under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

YRC Worldwide has been in the Dow Jones Transportation Average since Aug. 8, 1995 under the name Yellow Roadway Corp. The company changed its name to YRC Worldwide Inc. on Jan. 4, 2006.