GROVELAND, Fla. – Carroll Fulmer Logistics is closing its doors after 71 years in business with 31 years based in Groveland.

Groveland Mayor Keith Keogh said the company’s closure is going to be a big change for the city.

“They’ve been such a great supporter of the community,” Keogh said. “Every level, from strategic planning to transportation. It’s heartbreaking for the whole community.”

Keogh said Carroll Fuller helped bring more businesses to Groveland.

“There was nothing when they first came, and boy, it was built down around the center now where we have Kroger and all kinds of stuff,” Keogh said. “They were the first ones in there.”

Keogh also said the Fulmers helped the city with infrastructure projects.

“Helped us with a bypass, you know, looked at it, the new bypass. And we’re going to start next year in June and transportation as a whole,” Keogh said.

Carroll Fulmer is one of several trucking companies across the county that have faced challenges in 2022.

“It’s surprising but not surprising,” said Chief Editor of Commercial Carrier Journal, Jason Cannon. “You see a business that’s been around as long as Carroll Fulmer has, it’s always kind of jarring when you see a legacy player like that leave the business. It’s tough to be in freight right now, so Carroll Fulmer is not the only company that’s facing these challenges, and they’re not the only ones that will succumb.”

The Commercial Carrier Journal was first published in 1911 and is the oldest transportation journal in the country.

He said the industry is facing challenges related to tariffs and a drop in consumer spending.

“Right before the initial tariff announcement was made, there was a spike in freight activity, and that was mostly from frontloading with people trying to get ahead of the tariffs,” Cannon said. “But that sort of volatility has been unkind, and the other side of that is when you get that big spike, the one that was caused by front loading, there’s this corresponding crater where volume falls off a cliff.”

Cannon said the biggest consequence of Carroll Fulmer’s closure could be the drivers who need to find new jobs.

“There are open seats,” Cannon said. “But then again, you know, you’re down, you’re looking at drivers who may be around the Florida terminal. They may can’t go join an operator in Arizona that needs drivers. So there’s going to be some regionality to where those people go to work and how they find jobs. But there are truck driving jobs out there, and a good truck driver will be employable until he decides he doesn’t want to work anymore.”

News 6 tried to get in touch with Carroll Fulmer to confirm why the company is closing, but leadership was in meetings.

The company is expected to close in September 2025.