Family-owned Sparhawk Trucking of Wisconsin filed Ch. 11 bankruptcy on Friday, another carrier hit by the brutal freight economy in recent years but also led by an owner who battled for his health.
The over-the-road carrier, which also acts as a freight broker, had $35.1 million in revenue in 2025 and seeks to reorganize, according to a statement by owner Mark Sparhawk filed with a federal bankruptcy court in Wisconsin.
The company estimated it had $50,000 or less in assets but over $10 million in liabilities. It provides dedicated, refrigerated, flatbed, specialty and other services, according to its website. Lender WoodTrust Bank is owed $10.1 million, according to the statement.
But Sparhawk also signed over his business to a receivership without contacting an attorney, a receiver was appointed in December, and his business paid over $1.4 million in related expenses from Nov. 3 through Feb. 9, according to his statement.
Sparhawk, a man who has only used one bank for his entire life and had 11 surgeries from January through October 2023, returned to work on Oct. 15, 2023 despite all odds, he recalled in his statement.
“During my absence and unbeknownst to me, it appears that management sold equipment for cash and kept the money,” he said in the statement.
As of October 2025, the carrier had 178 power units and 146 drivers, according to a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration database. As of March 12 and 13, its W-2 drivers totaled over 50 and owner-operators total was 48, according to Sparhawk’s statement.
Additionally, Sparhawk Truck and Trailer also filed for Ch. 11 bankruptcy, reporting over $1 million in assets and over $10 million in liabilities.
Unsecured claims involved Paccar Parts Fleet Service for nearly $148,000, Cintas for nearly $51,000 and Transport Refrigeration for over $13,700, according to another legal filing.
Sparhawk authorized the paperwork Thursday, and his statement noted a $136 million lawsuit claim against his business following a trucking crash involving a train hauling hazardous products in August 2021 in Louisiana. He reached out to the railroad’s president in September 2025 to settle, his company’s insurance paid its $10 million coverage, and Sparhawk felt renewed in his business.
But he also noted additional pressures that included 2023 Peterbilt trucks having trouble that year with failing injectors that resulted in breakdowns across the country.
“Throughout 2024, I was dealing with mechanical issues on a daily basis. In addition to repair costs, down time and increased travel costs for drivers, customer deliveries were delayed,” his statement said. “Trucking lost customers.”
He personally started injecting $200,000 to $250,000 per month into the business when needed, according to his statement.
Mark Sparhawk took over the business from his father, Thomas Sparhawk, who incorporated it in 1980 during an economic depression, according to a business summary.
The business started a year earlier, though, when Thomas Sparhawk took over father’s body shop business, the company also noted.
Thomas Sparhawk later sold the business to his sons, and Matthew later gave his remaining ownership to Mark in 2023, according to the statement.
Mark Sparhawk said his father is still owed $1.7 million and hasn’t been paid for some time.
