The future is uncertain for employees of Watkins & Shepard trucking in Austintown.

Schneider National, Inc., the company that owns Watkins & Shepard, announced Thursday that it would be ceasing operations of their FTFM (First To Final Mile) business. 

The company says that it decided to cease FTFM operations after careful assessment of the near and long-term prospects.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Schneider National, Inc. is one of the largest U.S. carriers that serve retailers and manufacturers in the truckload sector and got into the FTFM business in 2016 when they bought Watkins & Shepard in Austintown and Lodeso, Inc. 

Schneider told the Wall Street Journal that the shutdown would affect 26 terminals and that they would try to place workers within other parts of the company.

The company announced the shutdown as it released second-quarter earnings including a 48 percent decline in net profit, to $34.5 million on declining, The Wall Street Journal said.

21 News went to Watkins & Shepard's Victoria Road location in Austintown where security requested us to leave the property and gave us a corporate number to call for comment. 

We have yet to hear back from corporate. 

The shutdown notice about the FTFM service can be found here.