A-P-A Transport Corp., one of the leading less-than-truckload carriers in the Northeast, shut down operations last month.

The decision to close its doors came after the carrier's lender refused to provide additional funding while the company attempted to right itself. In a letter to employees, company president Armand Pohan said, "That was our last best hope, and we cannot continue to operate without this financing.

The New Jersey-based carrier, founded in 1947 by five brothers, employed 1,900 people and operated about 2,200 pieces of equipment. It had operations in 13 states and four Canadian provinces. The carrier was family owned throughout its history.

As it prepared to shut down, A-P-A reached an agreement with New Penn Motor Express to provide continuing service to some A-P-A customers. Employees at both A-P-A and New Penn, a subsidiary of Roadway Corp., are represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

New Penn negotiated an agreement with the Teamsters to provide some jobs to A-P-A drivers and dock workers, based upon several conditions, including the number of former A-P-A customers that New Penn obtained.