Two hundred jobs have been lost in the collapse of a major trucking company that has gone into liquidation with $40million in estimated debts.

Transport and logistics company XL Express had been in business for 35 years and operated along Australia’s east coast, delivering freight and packages between Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

The company went into voluntary administration in June after it was locked out of its premises in Smithfield, south-west Sydney, due to unpaid rent.

Administration progressed to liquidation on Monday, with the company assessed as having no way of trading back to solvency.

XL Express is $41.9million in debt, with $5.3million owed to 200 staff and $3.4million to the tax office, administrators revealed. 

More than a dozen associated companies that operated under the XL Express group were also wound up.

The collapse sent shockwaves across the company’s customer base, with concerns  over existing orders not being completed.

Manheim Auctioneers was enlisted to offload the company’s fleet of 193 vehicles. 

XL Express has gone into liquidation weeks after it went into voluntary administration

XL Express was once a sponsor of the Brisbane Lions AFL team

As well as the money owed to staff and in tax, a further $18.9million is owed to lenders such as NAB, Judo Bank and ScotPac, the administrators’ report revealed. 

An additional $12.4million is owed to unsecured creditors.

The massive debt could rise even higher, with multiple injury compensation claims lodged by staff yet to be processed by insurers, the administrators noted.

How much money can be raised to pay off creditors was still being assessed, the report added.

The company’s website and social media accounts remain online with no mention of its collapse. 

‘We’re here to disrupt the status quo and think harder and act smarter for our clients and their businesses,’ the website states.

Many clients remain in limbo, not knowing if their orders will be fulfilled.

‘This is a disaster. We have outstanding customer orders, and now they’re stuck in limbo,’ a disgruntled client told Daily Mail in June. 

XL Express has collapsed owing more than $40million

XL’s demise follows just weeks after the collapse of another truck company Don Watson Transport. 

After running for more than 77 years, it ceased operating in June. 

The trucking industry has been under pressure in recent years due to an increase in fuel prices, combined with labour shortages and increased government regulation. 

Scott’s Refrigerated Logistics also collapsed in 2023, as did Austrans Container Services in 2024.

Managing Partner of WA insolvency Solutions, Jimmy Trpcevski, said he’s seen an increase in insolvency appointments and inquiries from transport operators.

Founded in 1990, the company operated along Australia’s east coast

‘Businesses are being squeezed from every direction, whether that’s rising costs, labour shortages, or compliance pressures. Margins are incredibly thin,’ he said.

Financial year 2024-2025 was the worst on record for insolvencies, with 14,105 businesses going under, up 26.8 per cent from the last financial year.