According to FreightWaves, BMO's transportation finance unit—one of the largest U.S. truck lenders, possibly the biggest—is being sold to Stonepeak, with the transaction expected to close in the fourth quarter. The sale will almost certainly end the quarterly disclosure of truck credit metrics that FreightWaves has tracked for six to seven years, eliminating a rare, transparent look at loan quality across the trucking cycle.
In the most recent quarter, the data showed meaningful improvement: gross impaired loans fell from well over $500 million to roughly $440 million, and allowances dropped significantly. Write-offs were essentially flat, down about $1 million, though that metric lags market conditions by design, according to FreightWaves.
The Data That Is Disappearing
The trucking industry is losing a critical source of credit insight as BMO sells its transportation finance unit, FreightWaves reported. The BMO dataset includes not just the size of the lending book but also:
- Write-offs
- Provisions
- Allowances
- Gross impaired loans
These forward- and backward-looking metrics together paint a detailed picture of credit stress in trucking. The quarterly figures were tracked by FreightWaves' John Kingston, who pioneered coverage of BMO's unique data.
The P in PE stands for private. So that takes care of it. Look, this was just a really, really unique situation. It's a publicly traded bank. They're very much out there as a lender to the trucking industry.
| Metric | Prior Quarter | Most Recent Quarter |
|---|---|---|
| Gross impaired loans | Well over $500 million | Roughly $440 million |
| Write-offs | — | Essentially flat, down about $1 million |
| Allowances | — | Dropped significantly |
A Cyclical Exit
The improvement marks a turning point after a brutal downturn. In BMO's worst quarter roughly a year ago, write-offs reached $43 million — compared to as little as $1 million in a single strong quarter — illustrating the extreme cyclicality that may have contributed to BMO's decision to exit, according to FreightWaves. BMO acquired the transportation lending portfolio from GE Capital in 2015, and the report noted the sale appears timed near a cyclical trough: "It seems to me that they sold at the bottom."
Diesel Pressure Builds
Separately, FreightWaves highlighted rising diesel prices. The DOE Energy Information Administration's weekly retail diesel price — the basis for most carrier fuel surcharges — hit its highest level since military action began in the Middle East, coming in at approximately $5.643 per gallon. The diesel crack spread has remained elevated, and the average retail diesel price has risen roughly 40 cents in the past month while gasoline prices have been flat, according to AAA data cited in the discussion.
Refinery maintenance season adds further pressure. Some facilities have scheduled maintenance programs booked two to three years in advance, involving hundreds of contractors, making deferrals difficult even as crack spreads incentivize maximum run rates. Drone attacks on Russian refinery infrastructure were also cited as an underappreciated driver of diesel tightness, with the direct Russia-Ukraine supply disruption to European markets rippling back into U.S. diesel prices through the global distillate market.
The Transparency Gap
Stonepeak declined to confirm any intention to continue publishing the data, according to FreightWaves. FreightWaves is now calling on other trucking lenders to step forward with comparable transparency. Mitsubishi Credit, which appeared on FreightWaves the day before this broadcast, was floated as one potential candidate to fill the void.
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