Your trucking company deals with a lot of expenses. Maintaining your fleet, fueling up for transportation, commercial insurance, replacing outdated equipment and making repairs all add up. And to complicate things, money from invoices doesn’t always come in soon enough to cover your bills.
If an emergency strikes, it could lead to a downward spiral of debt that does a number on your credit score.
Getting back on track after your business takes a hit can be tricky, but you’re not quite out of luck. You just have to know where to look for trucking business loans and the best choices for companies with bad credit.
If you’ve applied for a loan in the past, you know lenders aren’t exactly eager to grant financing to trucking companies. Trucking is a dangerous business involving a lot of risk, including:
Likely due in part to these factors, the 2017 Travelers Risk Index reported 45% of transportation lenders seeing their risk levels increasing. Shaky credit history or a low credit score adds more uncertainty, as it may indicate a pattern of missed payments, poor spending habits or overutilization of credit.
As 2019 has gone by, many trucking companies have felt the effects of the often-cyclical economy. While the industry was recently at a high point, it has now tapered off into a decline, due to the increased number of trucking companies. Dangerous winter conditions may play a role in this change, too.
Lenders also take a big chance when they approve loans for high-risk industries, including trucking and transportation.
If the recipient of the funding defaults, a lender may have to invest a significant amount of time collecting the remaining cost of the loan through other means. A business with a very poor financial picture may be in danger of going under before the loan terms are up. If things don’t go well, the lender could potentially lose money in the ensuing debt settlement negotiations.
You can’t really blame lenders – who are business owners just like you – for not wanting to finance high-risk loans. But you also can’t go without the money you need to keep your company going.
Bad credit shouldn’t prevent you from getting funding to buy new vehicles, upgrade your technology, hire more staff members or invest in improved route planning tools.
Alternative lenders like National Business Capital & Services recognize the difficulties you face as the owner of a trucking business and understand that a low credit score doesn’t always tell the whole story. By considering more than just a FICO number, nonbank lenders are able to offer several trucking company financing choices:
Regardless of credit score, you have plenty of options to finance your trucking company. National Business Capital & Services provides a range of small business loans to enable you to purchase equipment, cover expenses or pursue growth.
Equipment financing is available with no minimum FICO requirement if you’ve been in business for at least six months and bring in $120,000 or more in annual sales. You can qualify for up to $5 million and have access to the funding in two to five days. At the end of the term, the equipment is yours. Depending on what type of equipment you purchase, you could also qualify for a Section 179 tax deduction!
Need funding for other expenses? Let National point you toward the right loan type and structure to support your trucking business on the road to success.
National Business Capital & Services is the #1 FinTech marketplace offering small business loans and services. Harnessing the power of smart technology and even smarter people, we’ve streamlined the approval process to secure over $1 billion in financing for small business owners to date.
Our expert Business Financing Advisors work within our 75+ Lender Marketplace in real time to give you easy access to the best low-interest SBA loans, short and long-term loans and business lines of credit, as well as a full suite of revenue-driving business services.
We strengthen local communities one small business loan at a time. For every deal we fund, we donate 10 meals to Feeding America!
Megan is passionate about helping business owners along their journey - providing them with relevant content they can use in their day-to-day operations.