Tell City transport company suspends operations amid rising costs

Legacy Transports LLC suspended operations in Tell City after saying rising costs and broader industry pressures had made it harder to keep service standards high while keeping local rates affordable. The company said it may try to restructure before deciding whether to resume service, leaving customers and business partners without a restart date.

The move lands hard in Perry County because Tell City is the county seat and largest city in a market where transportation options are limited. Federal carrier records identify Legacy Transports as a passenger carrier with USDOT 4304732 and MC 1677020, and directory data show a very small fleet, just two buses and two power units. With a fleet size code indicating two to three owned vehicles, even a temporary suspension can quickly ripple through daily travel plans, scheduled trips and business logistics.

The company’s pause also points to a broader cost squeeze that has been building across the trucking and passenger transport sector. Federal transportation data show transportation producer prices rose year over year in 2025, and industry benchmarking from the American Transportation Research Institute found trucking non-fuel operating costs reached record highs in 2024. For a small operator, that combination can leave little room to absorb fuel, maintenance, insurance, labor and compliance costs without raising rates beyond what the local market will bear.

Legacy Transports is also a relatively new Indiana business. State records list its incorporation date as Aug. 24, 2024, which underscores how quickly a startup carrier can be pushed into a defensive position when expenses outpace revenue. In Perry County, where the population was 19,170 at the 2020 census and recent state estimates put it at 19,389 in 2025, the loss of even one transportation provider can matter more than it would in a larger metro area. Tell City’s population was 7,506 in the 2020 census and an estimated 7,515 in 2024.

That local dependence is reinforced by the county’s transportation footprint. The Perry County Port Authority in Tell City is an intermodal rail-and-river hub tied to the Ohio River and southwestern Indiana’s freight network, making transportation a central part of the local economy. For now, Legacy Transports’ suspension leaves an immediate gap and a larger question for Perry County: whether this is a short pause for one small company, or another sign that rising operating costs are forcing local businesses to pull back.